Stakeholders' Perspectives on the Current Status of Partnerships between the Food Banking and Healthcare Systems to Address Food Insecurity in the U.S

Eminet Abebe Gurganus; Nana Yaa A Marfo; Marlene B Schwartz; Kristen Cooksey Stowers

doi:10.3390/nu13124502

Stakeholders' Perspectives on the Current Status of Partnerships between the Food Banking and Healthcare Systems to Address Food Insecurity in the U.S

Nutrients. 2021 Dec 16;13(12):4502. doi: 10.3390/nu13124502.

Authors

Eminet Abebe Gurganus^{1

2}, Nana Yaa A Marfo³, Marlene B Schwartz^{1

2}, Kristen Cooksey Stowers^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06103, USA.
² Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
³ Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
⁴ Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.

Abstract

One in eight people in the U.S. experience food insecurity (FI). To date, the food banking sector has been at the forefront of efforts to address FI, but the healthcare sector is becoming increasingly involved in such efforts. The extent of collaboration between the two sectors remains unclear. We explored food banking stakeholders' views on the current state of partnerships between the two sectors. We used purposive sampling to recruit ten key informants for semi-structured interviews. We also conducted a national online survey to gather data from food bank directors (n = 137). Thematic analysis generated two major themes: (1) Healthcare and food banking stakeholders are coordinating to achieve collective impact, and (2) Food banking-healthcare partnerships are leveraging various resources and vested interests within the medical community. We found evidence of ongoing partnerships between the two sectors and opportunities to strengthen these partnerships through the support of backbone organizations.

Keywords: food banking; food insecurity; healthcare; social determinants of health (SDOH).

MeSH terms

Food Assistance / organization & administration*
Food Industry*
Food Insecurity*
Health Care Sector*
Humans
Public-Private Sector Partnerships
Qualitative Research
Stakeholder Participation / psychology*
United States

Grants and funding

N/A/Food Trust Center for Healthy Food Access