Dutch food bank recipients have poorer dietary intakes than the general and low-socioeconomic status Dutch adult population

J E Neter,A L M Dekkers,M Visser,S C Dijkstra,M C Ocké,I A Brouwer

doi:10.1007/s00394-017-1540-x

J E Neter, A L M Dekkers + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-017-1540-x

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Abstract

PurposeFood-assistance program users are a specific group of nutritional concern, as they are often food insufficient and have poorer diet quality compared to non-food-assistance program users. The aim of our study was to assess dietary intake of Dutch food bank recipients (n = 167) and to compare this with dietary intake of a representative sample of the general population (Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS-all): n = 1933), including a low-socioeconomic status (SES) sample (DNFCS-low SES: n = 312), using data from the DNFCS 2007–2010.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 12 food banks throughout The Netherlands participated. Food bank recipients’ characteristics were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire. Dietary intake data were collected through three 24-h recalls. Habitual dietary intake (mean, percentiles, and 95% CI) was estimated for all samples. Differences between samples were determined by comparing the 95% CIs.ResultsMean age of the study population (62.9% female) was 48.6 years (SD:10.1). Mean energy intake was 1986 (95% CI 1830–2089) kcal. The majority of the Dutch food bank recipients had lower intakes than dietary reference intakes for dietary fiber, fruit, vegetables, and fish (range 86.6–99.3%), and a higher intake for saturated fat [88.1% (95% CI 84.1–98.9)]. Furthermore, mean intakes of energy, fiber, fruit, and vegetables were significantly lower in Dutch food bank recipients than in the DNFCS-all and the DNFCS-low-SES [e.g., daily mean fruit intake (g) food bank recipients 62.8 (95% CI 45.5–76.5), DNFCS-all 105.8 (95% CI 105.4–117.9), and DNFCS-low-SES 85.1 (95% CI 78.7–100.2)]. Fish intake was significantly lower compared with the DNFCS-all, but not compared with the DNFCS-low-SES.ConclusionsDutch food bank recipients, who largely rely on the content of food parcels, are not able to meet the nutritional guidelines for a healthy diet, and their dietary intake is poorer than the general as well as the low-SES sample of the Dutch adult population. More research is needed on how to improve the dietary intake of this vulnerable population subgroup, by, e.g., revising the content of the food parcels, and to develop effective intervention activities.

Highlights

Food-assistance program users are a specific group of people of nutritional concern, as they have limited resources to purchase food and largely rely on the availability and quality of donated food in the food parcels
Studies on the nutritional intake of food-assistance program users show a lower consumption of fruit, vegetables, dairy products, or seafood compared with the guidelines [6, 7], the general population [10], or the low-socioeconomic status (SES) population [7, 11]
The 12 participating food banks from 8 provinces were located in two smaller (Boxtel [n = 8], Zeewolde [n = 5]), four medium (Alkmaar [n = 31], Delft [n = 9], Hilversum [n = 10], and Wageningen [n = 5]), and six larger size (Amersfoort [n = 16], Apeldoorn [n = 8], Breda [n = 7], Enschede [n = 46], Groningen [n = 10], and Rotterdam [n = 18]) cities

Summary

Introduction

Food-assistance program users are a specific group of people of nutritional concern, as they have limited resources to purchase food and largely rely on the availability and quality of donated food in the food parcels. Eur J Nutr (2018) 57:2747–2758 fruit and fish were lower This previous work suggests that the nutritional guidelines for a healthy diet cannot be met if food supplied by food banks is the sole food source. Studies on the nutritional intake of food-assistance program users show a lower consumption of fruit, vegetables, dairy products, or seafood compared with the guidelines [6, 7], the general population [10], or the low-socioeconomic status (SES) population [7, 11]. One study revealed that food-assistance program users, compared to the general population, show higher prevalences of folate and vitamin D deficiency, and of low vitamin C, ß-carotene, and zinc levels [10]. The inadequate nutritional intake and suboptimal nutritional status may lead to malnutrition and higher risks of nutrition-related chronic diseases [12, 14]

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