A food bank program to help food pantries improve healthy food choices: mixed methods evaluation of The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Healthy Pantry Program

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Lauren Fiechtner¹  Bianca Porneala²  Ross Sonnenblick²  Alexa Reilly²  Jenny Jia³  Anne N. Thorndike⁴  Rachel Burgun⁵  Rachel M. Zack⁵ 

[1] Division of General Academic Pediatrics and Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Mass General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA;Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, 750 Lakeshore Drive, 10th floor, 60611, Chicago, IL, USA;Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;The Greater Boston Food Bank, Boston, MA, USA;

关键词: Food pantries;    Charitable food system;    Nudge interventions;    Healthy food choices;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-023-15243-4

 received in 2022-04-12, accepted in 2023-02-08,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe Greater Boston Food Bank’s (GBFB) Healthy Pantry Program (HPP) is an online training that teaches food pantry staff to implement behavioral nudges (e.g., traffic-light nutrition labels, choice architecture) to promote healthier client choices. This study assessed if HPP was associated with healthier food bank orders by food pantries and identified implementation facilitators and barriers.MethodsThis mixed methods study collected quantitative data from a matched cohort of 10 HPP food pantries and 99 matched control food pantries in eastern Massachusetts that allow clients to choose their own food, and qualitative data from structured individual interviews with 8 HPP pantry staff. A difference-in-differences analysis compared changes in percentage of pantries’ food bank orders (by weight) of foods labeled green/yellow (healthier choices) and fresh produce from baseline to 6 and 10 months between HPP and control pantries. Interviews were coded for implementation facilitators and barriers.ResultsBefore starting HPP, green-yellow ordering was 92.0% (SD 4.9) in control and 87.4% (SD 5.4) in HPP pantries. Participation in HPP was not associated with changes in green-yellow or fresh produce ordering at 6 or 10 months. HPP implementation facilitators included HPP training being accessible (sub-themes: customizable, motivating) and compatible with client-choice values. Barriers included resource limitations (sub-themes: staff shortage, limited space) and concerns about stigmatizing client food choices with use of labels for unhealthy foods.ConclusionsAn online program to help pantries promote healthier client choices was not associated with changes in how much healthy food pantries ordered from the food bank, suggesting it did not substantially change client choices. Implementation challenges and high baseline healthy ordering may have influenced HPP’s effectiveness.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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