Characterizing Trends in the Use of Food Donations and Other Food-Related Community-Based Social Assistance Programs in a Cohort of New Food Bank Users in Quebec, Canada

Elsury Johanna Pérez; Mabel Carabali; Geneviève Mercille; Marie-Pierre Sylvestre; Federico Roncarolo; Louise Potvin

doi:10.3389/ijph.2024.1605833

Characterizing Trends in the Use of Food Donations and Other Food-Related Community-Based Social Assistance Programs in a Cohort of New Food Bank Users in Quebec, Canada

Int J Public Health. 2024 Feb 9:69:1605833. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1605833. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Elsury Johanna Pérez^{1

2

3}, Mabel Carabali^{2

4}, Geneviève Mercille^{2

3

5}, Marie-Pierre Sylvestre^{1

2

6}, Federico Roncarolo^{2

3}, Louise Potvin^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal & CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
³ Chaire de Recherche du Canada sur les Approches Communautaires et Inégalités de Santé (CACIS), Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁵ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montréal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Objective: To characterize 12-month trends in the use of food donations and other food-related community-based social assistance programs (CB-SAPs) during the first year following the enrollment of new food bank (FB) users in Quebec, Canada. Methods: A cohort of 1,001 newly registered FB-users in Quebec from the Pathways Study were followed-up during 12-month following baseline assessment. Outcomes were monthly use of food donations and other food-related CB-SAPs. Main predictors were alternative food source utilization (AFSU) profiles: 1) exclusive-FB-users; 2) FB+fruit/vegetable-market-users; and 3) Multiple/diverse-AFS-users. Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and major life events. We fit Bayesian hierarchical mixed-effect models, accounting for spatial clustering, temporal correlation, and censoring. Results: We observed an overall downward trend of food donation use among study completers (n = 745). Each AFSU profile had a distinctive monthly trend of food donation use, but probabilities of use across the three profiles overlapped, between 44% and 55%. The use of other food-related CB-SAPs was low and not correlated with AFSU profiles. Conclusion: De novo FB-users use food donations in different ways over time according to specific contextual AFSU profiles.

Keywords: Canada; Quebec; alternative food sources; community-based food programs; food access; food assistance; food banks.

MeSH terms

Bayes Theorem
Canada
Food Assistance*
Fruit
Humans
Quebec

Grants and funding

This study is funded by CIHR, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT 155936), with complementary funding from the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services, Fondation du Grand Montréal and Fondation Vanier. Support for community organizations recruitment was also provided by the Greater Montreal Foundation and Mission Inclusion. EP is supported by a CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship (GSD-164124) and a FRQS doctoral training scholarship. MC holds a FRQS Junior 1 Investigator Award. M-PS holds a FRQS Junior 2 Investigator Award. LP holds the Canada Research Chair in Community Approaches and Health Inequalities (CRC 950-232541). The publication was supported by the Centre de Recherche en Santé Publique (CReSP), Université de Montréal & CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal.