Where Do Nutrients of Public Health Concern Come From in US Rural Food Pantry Clients?

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Food pantry clients receive foods from food pantries, stores, restaurants and other food outlets. Intake of nutrients of public health concern, added sugar and saturated fats, is recommended to be limited to <10% total energy intake (%TEI), and sodium not to exceed 2300 mg. The objective was to determine the largest contributing food outlet for added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium before and after a food pantry visit among rural food pantry clients (n = 473). Methods English speaking participants ≥18 years (or ≥19 years in Nebraska) were recruited from 24 food pantries in rural, high-poverty counties in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota. Participants at the food pantry were interviewed regarding their characteristics and dietary intake using the Automated Self-Administered 24-h Dietary Recall. Foods and beverages were reported as originating from food pantries, stores, restaurants, and other. An additional recall was collected within 1 week of the pantry visit on a non-consecutive day. The mean amount of sodium and %TEI from saturated fat and added sugar from each food outlet before and after the pantry visit was calculated for each participant and analyzed using Analysis of Variance. Results Stores, including supermarket, convenience store, and other stores, were the largest contributing outlet to sodium intake (mg, 1544.7 ± 50.2) and %TEI intake from added sugar (11.1 ± 0.4) and saturated fat (7.3 ± 0.2) before visiting the food pantry. The after-pantry intakes were not significantly different from the before-pantry intakes except for sodium. The after-pantry intake of sodium (mg) from food pantries increased from 513.8 ± 50.2 to 755.8 ± 50.2. Conclusions The largest contributing outlet to added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium intake were stores. Findings signal the need for offering nutrition education programs among food pantry clients to support healthy food choices and limit intake of nutrients of public health concern from various outlets, especially from supermarket, convenience stores, and other stores. Funding Sources This project is supported by the USDA NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grant no. 2013–69,004-20,401.