Abstract
Aim
Food pantries are a vital component of the emergency food environment in the United States; however, little is known about how low-income households use food pantries in relation to the food retail outlets located around them. This study investigated the relationship between the food environment (characterized by the number of retail stores around food pantries and the local cost of food) and the reliance on food pantries among their clients.
Subject and methods
The analysis draws on data from a statewide survey conducted in 2017 among food pantry clients (n = 4267) in Minnesota. We documented the characteristics of food pantry clients and food retail establishments around them and the relationship between food pantry usage and the retail food environment using logistic regressions.
Results
We found that high reliance on food pantries was positively associated with the area-level cost of food (OR = 1.16, p < 0.01) and negatively associated with the number of food retail outlets around the food pantries (OR = 0.98, p < 0.01).
Conclusion
Our findings confirm food pantries are filling a gap in food access and the retail food environment and serve as a steady source of food for their clients. Findings suggest the need to reconsider food pantry offerings, particularly in locations where they fill the void left by food retail stores to serve clients adequately.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Notes
Since this data was obtained for this paper, ReferenceUSA has been acquired by Data Axle. Data Axle continues to make this data available for purchase.
A classification scheme endorsed by the USDA Economic Research Service that distinguishes metropolitan counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area with counties in metro areas, i.e., if RUCC equals one, two or three coded as urban (Parker 2013).
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Funding
This work was supported partially by the National Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1R01HL136640); the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Grant (UL1TR002494) supported data management. The authors declare they have no financial interests.
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Karnik, H., Peterson, H., Bohen, L. et al. Relationship between local food environment and reliance on food pantries: insights from a statewide client survey in Minnesota. J Public Health (Berl.) (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-024-02240-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-024-02240-z