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Variation in Food Group Availability and Nutrient Composition Across Food Pantry Inventories

Food insecurity has been linked to an increased risk of nutrition‐related health disparities and dependency on emergency food assistance programs, including food pantries. Given the diverse nature by which food pantries operate and acquire food inventory, we aimed to investigate variations in food group availability and overall nutrient composition of inventories at three food pantries in different districts of Bridgeport, Connecticut (Pantry 1, zip code 06604; Pantry 2: zip code 06605; and Pantry 3: zip code 06606). Foods were categorized as grains (refined or whole), vegetables (dark‐green leafy, red & orange, legumes, starchy, or other), fruits, protein, dairy, or oils, as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015–2020. Nutrient composition of food items was further analyzed to determine total and saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total sugar, and fiber content of pantry inventories. We observed that Pantry 1 had the largest variety of food items (n = 115 different products), as compared to Pantries 2 (n = 40) and 3 (n = 35). Grains were found to be the most predominant food type at all pantries, representing 38.3%, 57.5%, and 45.7% of all products in Pantries 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Of all grain products, refined grain foods were most abundant at Pantries 1 (70.5%), 2 (78.3%), and 3 (87.5%), as compared to whole grain products (29.6%, 21.7%, and 12.5%). Aside from oil products, which were not present at any pantries, fruit (10.4%, 5%, and 2.9%) and dairy (1.7%, 5%, and 11.4%) products represented the smallest proportion of food items, albeit to varying degrees. Variation in the prevalence of vegetable type was additionally observed across pantries, with Pantry 1 supplying an assortment of legumes (14.3%), and dark‐green leafy (2.4%), red & orange (42.9%), starchy (16.7%), and other (23.8%) vegetables. In contrast, Pantry 2 only supplied dark‐green leafy (40.0%), red & orange (10.0%), starchy (10.0%), and other (40%) vegetables, whereas Pantry 3 inventory lacked dark‐leafy vegetables and legumes. In comparing nutrient compositions of all inventory foods across pantries, we observed that Pantry 1 food items contained significantly lower amounts of total and saturated fat, total sugar, cholesterol, and increased fiber per average serving when compared to the inventory foods of Pantry 3. Together, these findings suggest that food selection and nutritional quality varies significantly across food pantries within a single city.