BARRIERS TO HEALTHY EATING IN A COMMUNITY THAT RELIES ON EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY Journal Article Summary

Food insecurity is considered an epidemic public health problem in the United States. As a result, Martha's Choice Marketplace (MCM) has become the largest emergency food pantry in Norristown, Pennsylvania. MCM partnered with The Catholic Social Services (CSS) and The Villanova University College of Nursing to conduct a study to analyze users of emergency food pantries. The objective of this study was to analyze participants' understanding and perception of the barriers linked to food insecurity and shopping from EFPs. In other words, the researchers wanted to see what kinds of barriers were prevalent when it came to healthy eating in a food-insecure community. After the study was concluded, the end goal was to advance nutrition and public health professionals' understanding of these barriers to advance nutrition in EFPs and advance peer mentor developments.

The study showed that the Emergency Food Pantry (EFP) influences healthy vs. unhealthy eating habits.

The study was a qualitative descriptive study that utilized focus groups. The participants were recruited using flyers, word of mouth, or direct referrals. Eleven female participants were recruited and trained to conduct focus groups. They would ask questions to fully explore people's understanding of barriers to healthy eating when using an EFP. Some of the questions were aimed to find out how participants decide what to buy, if and how they struggle to prepare certain meals, what their food choices generally are and how they choose. The information was recorded verbatim, initial themes and ideas were compared so that the perspective of all participants was displayed.

The study was based on the Health Belief Model. This is because it focused most on perceived barriers. One participant stated, “If it takes too long to prepare, I'm not going to do it. If they could do something in 5 minutes, it might help." Personal responsibility in the participants showed how knowledge, resources, special dietary needs, and cultural and family influences affected their selection choices.

Peer mentors are community members who know the community's needs first hand. These mentors serve as the primary source that interviews the participants and records and analyzes the findings to make conclusions. The peer mentor's main method to research and come to conclusions was the use of focus groups. In these focus groups, participants could openly share their perspective and opinions, while simultaneously listening to others' experience and build off of that.

The study received thirty-one applications but only selected fifteen to participate; out of the fifteen participants contacted, only eleven agreed to one of two focus groups. The participants were all older women who shopped at EFP, were high school graduates, and received some form of federal nutrition assistance. There were four themes: knowledge, resources, special dietary needs, and culture and family influences.

This article's main conclusion relates to the four barrier themes identified from the focus groups. Of all the barriers, socioeconomic inequalities were the primary barrier to healthy eating. For many participants, it was not that they did not want to adopt a healthy lifestyle; instead, they could not do so. Many people did not know what to make with fresh ingredients, so they strayed away from it, or they were faced with the choice of either buying nourishing food or paying the electric bill. Lack of knowledge hindered a lot of participants as well from trying new things, which, most of the time, meant missing out on the more nutritious meals. For example, if participants did not know the food, they would not take it because they did not prepare it. Others stated, "If you have a lot of people in your family, it's cheaper to go get dollar burgers than go to the grocery store and buy something else."1 There were also strict or specialized dietary conditions due to underlying health conditions and a common issue of feeding large families with different nutritional needs and influences. Finally, family support was lacking, and they often received acceptance of healthier foods.

More participants could have improved the study in multiple ways; some improvements were even stated at the end of the search. Men could have been added to the participant group, not because women are more like the grocery getters. Having such a small study group in a small area affected results drastically. The want in helping make participants more confident might aid in further dietary changes. The study mainly focused on low-income communities without guidance from a nutritionist. Bringing in an outsource to be at these EFP's would help consumers considerably understand what specific products are, how users could cook them, or help substitute options so that participants could use the information to the fullest.

Although the vocabulary remains clear and concise in this journal article, some words that could confuse another reader include, but are not limited to:

Pervasive: “spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people” (2)

Impediment: “a hindrance or obstruction in doing something” (3)

Exacerbated: “make worse” (4)

Disparities: “a great difference” [sometimes regarding a health problem comparing one group to another] (5)

Methodology: “a system of methods used in an area of study” (6)

Epidemic: an occurrence of a health problem that occurs at a much higher rate than expected at a particular time (7)

One referenced article was titled "Raising the bar on nutrition: a program to improve diet quality and food purchasing for food pantry clients."(8) In the study, the goal was to create a program that would allow for the advancement of food purchasing within pantries that would then, in turn, improve the diet quality for its clients. This program measured the changes of its clients' shopping and eating habits over six months with their implemented changes. The authors referenced this because it aligns with expanding the nutritious options within EFPs and increasing participants' knowledge.

Another referenced article was titled, "Intervention to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetable amount Arkansas food pantry clients."(9) The authors reference this article because it says, "Food pantries serve millions of Americans, yet the nutritional quality of foods distributed has been poor."2 The findings showed an improvement of fruit and vegetables within households from the study. Therefore, there is an aim to improve the nutritional quality of foods distributed and the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables. The study directly applies to how they are trying to improve food pantry selections to help families be healthier on a low-income budget.

References:

1.Oliver TL, McKeever A, Shenkman R, Diewald L. Barriers to Healthy Eating in a Community That Relies on an Emergency Food Pantry. J Nutr Edu Bhv. 2019;52(3). doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.005

2. Pervasive. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

3. Impediment. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

4. Exacerbated. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

5. Disparities. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

6. Methodology. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

7. Epidemic. Google.com. Accessed February 8, 2022.

8. Long CR, Rowland B, McElfish PA. Intervention to Improve Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Among Arkansas Food Pantry Clients. Prev Chr Dis. 2019;16(E09). doi:10.5888/pcd16.180155

9. Flynn MM, Schiff AR. Raising the Bar on Nutrition: A Program to Improve Diet Quality and Food Purchasing for Food Pantry Clients. J Amer Diet Assoc. 2010;110(9):A91. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.06.340

Picture Reference:

1.images by lukasbieri. Mediterranean cuisine eat food. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 8, 2022.

2. Queven. sign food bank pandemic. Adobe Stock. Accessed Febraury 8, 2022.

3. Silviarita. salad fruit berry. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 8, 2022.

4. Qimono. Scale question importance. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 8, 2022.

5. Danny112. Burger cheese burger burgers. Adobe Stock. Accessed February 8, 2022.