Perceived Advantages of and Concerns About Mobile Food Pantries Among Mothers Who Utilized Food Pantries Before or During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased the demand for food pantries. Using data from an online survey in early spring 2021, we explored interest in mobile food pantries among US mothers who received food from a food pantry before or during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 53). Sixty percent were very interested in getting food from a mobile food pantry, 19% were quite a bit interested, and 21% were somewhat interested. Participants liked the convenience and reduced risk of COVID-19 infection but had cleanliness and accessibility concerns. Mobile food pantries may be one approach to address food access among households with children.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobile food pantries
• food insecurity
• mothers
• COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1020701 (PI: Waring)