The Need for Nutritious Foods in the Feeding America Network According to the Feeding America Hunger in America Report, in 2013, Feeding America Network food banks, food pantries, and other assistance centers distributed more than 3.2 billion meals to over 46 million individuals and 16 million.11 Clients of US emergency assistance agencies tend to be food insecure or experience very low food security. Additionally, more than 63% of households surveyed planned to use charitable food assistance as part of their monthly budget.11 The role of food pantries and food banks has changed over time from providing acute relief to the food insecure populations beginning in the 1970s to filling the increasing need of continuous food provisions for the present-day chronically food insecure populations in the United States.11 Because the majority of FA households receive charitable assistance each month and 47.4% of households report having at least one household member in “fair” or “poor” health, it is important to recognize that the nutrient status of charitable foods is likely to vary based on donors, location, and price. Literature pertaining to food pantry inventory and health profiles of food pantry users is limited and tends to be dated or from Canada, which is a comparable country to the United States to a limited degree when assessing the intersection of public and private welfare programs; therefore, more studies based in the United States are necessary to fully understand the current role of emergency charitable assistance organizations.2,3,7,8,40-46 Additionally, food insecure clients of emergency nutrition assistance agencies, tend to be overweight or obese, consume diets lower in fruits, vegetables, and fiber as compared to food secure individuals.40,41,44-47 Additionally, among both US-based and Canadian charitable food assistance agencies, meals and bags of food provided tended to be inadequate to meet the adults’ nutrient requirements, along with being low in fruits, vegetable, dairy, and fiber.40-43 While SNAP and WIC encourage fruits, vegetables, whole grain-rich, and low-sugar foods, charitable food available to food insecure household are not subject to any national, state, or county nutrition regulation. Prior to 2010, there was little overarching nutrition oversight or accountability across the FA network. Because the majority of food pantries heavily rely on acquiring food from their FA food bank, food pantries may not have had access to the healthiest of food options for thei...
