Nutrition-Focused Food Banking in the United States: A Qualitative Study of Healthy Food Distribution Initiatives

Abstract

BackgroundNutrition-focused food banking is broadly defined as organizational and programmatic efforts to address nutrition-related health disparities among charitable food clients. Additional information is needed to systematically describe how US food banks, as key influencers of the charitable food system, are working to advance nutrition-focused food banking initiatives in their communities. ObjectiveOur aim was to describe food bank leadership–identified organizational strategies, “best practices,” and innovative programs for advancing nutrition-focused food banking in the United States. DesignWe conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews to elicit information about the nutrition-focused food banking practices and processes being employed by US food banks. Participants/settingParticipants comprised a purposive sample of food bank executives (n=30) representing a diverse selection of food banks across the United States. Interviews were conducted between April 2015 and January 2017 at national food bank conferences. AnalysisTwo researchers independently reviewed transcripts to identify themes using code-based qualitative content analysis. ResultsExecutive leader descriptions of specific strategies to support nutrition-focused food banking centered primarily around the following four major themes: building a healthier food inventory at the food bank; enhancing partner agency healthy food access, storage, and distribution capacity; nutrition education outreach; and expanding community partnerships and intervention settings for healthy food distribution, including health care and schools. ConclusionsStudy findings indicate that food banks are implementing a variety of multilevel approaches to improve healthy food access among users of the charitable food system. Further evaluation is needed to assess the reach, scalability, and sustainability of these various approaches, and their effectiveness in reducing determinants of nutrition-related health disparities.