Impact of Fresh Shelves, Healthy Pantries; a Feasibility Trial Using Policy, Educational and Environmental Strategies in Baltimore City Food Pantries

• Published in: Current developments in nutrition 2020-06, Vol.4 (Supplement_2), p.197-197, Article nzaa043_048
• Main Authors: Gunen, Bengucan, Poirier, Lisa, Hinman, Sarah, Daniel, Leena, Pruden, Brianna, Weiss, Jacqueline, Katragadda, Nathan, Gittelsohn, Joel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Community and Public Health Nutrition
• ISSN: 2475-2991; 2475-2991
• DOI: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa043_048

To date, no intervention has attempted to improve the availability and accessibility of healthful options at food pantries in Baltimore. Our objective is to: 1) test the feasibility of various policy, educational and environmental strategies to improve the stocking and distribution of healthy options at food pantries, 2) assess the impact of a food pantry-based nutrition intervention at the pantry and client levels. 2 small, 2 medium, and 3 large pantries were randomly selected from Maryland Food Bank’s community-based network partners in Baltimore (n = 102) out of eligible and interested pantries. 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large pantry received intervention in 3 phases, each focusing on one food group: lean & low-sodium proteins; fruits & vegetables; healthy carbohydrates. Each phase used policy (stocking guidelines and switch to client choice distribution), educational (trainings for pantry staff; taste tests and cooking demos for clients), environmental strategies (shelf rearrangement; print materials for clients). Intervention had medium reach, high dose delivered, and high fidelity. Pantry-level impact was measured via variety scores for the 3 promoted food groups using data from Food Pantry Environmental Checklist. Client-level impact was measured via Food Assortment Scoring Tool scores for client bags. Paired t-tests were used to assess differences between intervention and comparison groups. For lean & low-sodium proteins, the difference in variety scores between post-intervention and baseline was 6.00 +/–5.29 for intervention pantries, and –1.00 +/–5.03 for comparison pantries (P = 0.13). For fruits & vegetables, the difference in variety scores between post-intervention and baseline was 1.67 +/–7.51 for intervention pantries, and 3.25 +/–7.46 for comparison pantries (P = 0.80). For healthy carbohydrates, the difference in variety scores between post-intervention and baseline was 5.33 +/–9.50 for intervention pantries, and 1.75 +/–6.50 for comparison pantries (P = 0.61). Policy, educational and environmental strategies may increase the stocking of some healthful options at Baltimore food pantries. The impact of feasible strategies should be studied with a larger sample size to reach statistically significant conclusions. Johns Hopkins University Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion.