Breakfast Consumption Is Positively Associated with Usual Nutrient Intakes among Food Pantry Clients Living in Rural Communities

Construct validity of the Charitable Food Nutrition Index

Background

Food pantries are an important source of food for those facing food insecurity. The Charitable Food Nutrition Index (CFNI) was developed for research and practice to measure the nutritional quality of assortments of foods in this setting.

Objective

The study assessed the construct validity of the CFNI using secondary data from a group-randomized food pantry intervention in Minnesota.

Methods

The CFNI was calculated for each client cart post-intervention (n = 187; 85 intervention, 102 control). CFNI scores were based on the proportion of items in each client cart ranked "green," "yellow," or "red" using the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System. An implementation score assessing intervention fidelity was measured for each pantry (n = 11; 5 intervention, 6 control) based on the four intervention subcomponents: aesthetics/use of space; healthy food prominence and appeal; unhealthy food de-emphasis; and stocking standards. Mixed linear models were used to test whether: (a) client carts from pantries in the intervention condition had higher CFNI scores than those in the control condition, and (b) higher implementation scores were associated with higher CFNI scores.

Results

In adjusted models, clients from intervention group pantries had higher CFNI scores, reflecting a healthier assortment of foods compared with clients from control group pantries (p = 0.022). CFNI scores were positively associated with greater fidelity to the intervention (p = 0.020).

Conclusions

The CFNI was sensitive enough to detect the effects of the intervention in the expected directions. These findings support its construct validity and utility as a measure in the charitable food system.

Food Insecurity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Purpose of Review

This review examines the current epidemiological evidence for the relationship between levels of food insecurity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes among US adults > 17 years.

Recent Findings

Review of recent literature revealed that reduced food security was associated with decreased likelihood of good self-reported cardiovascular health and higher odds of reporting CVD-related outcomes such as coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, peripheral arterial disease, and hypertension.

Summary

Existing evidence suggests a compelling association between each level of reduced food security and CVD risk with a particularly strong association between very low food security and CVD risk. Policies and public health-based strategies are needed to identify the most vulnerable subgroups, strengthen and enhance access to food assistance programs, and promote awareness and access to healthful foods and beverages to improve food security, nutrition, and cardiovascular health.

Nutritional contributions of food pantries and other sources to the diets of rural, Midwestern food pantry users in the USA

Food pantries provide free food to individuals at nutritional risk given lack of available foods. Frequent use of food pantries is associated with higher dietary quality; however, neither the nutrient contributions of food pantries to participant diets nor their relationship with household food security are known. This cross-sectional analysis used secondary data from rural food pantry participants, including sociodemographic characteristics, household food security and 24-h recalls. Mean intakes of selected food groups and nutrients from food pantries, supermarkets, other stores and restaurants, and other were compared by one-way ANCOVA. Interaction effects of household food security with food sources were evaluated by two-way ANCOVA. About 40 % of participants’ dietary intake came from food pantries. Mean intakes of fibre (P < 0·0001), Na (P < 0·0001), fruit (P < 0·0001), grains (P < 0·0001) and oils (P < 0·0001) were higher from food pantries compared with all other sources, as were Ca (P = 0·004), vitamin D (P < 0·0001) and K (P < 0·0001) from food pantries compared with two other sources. Percentage total energy intake (%TEI) from added sugars (P < 0·0001) and saturated fat (P < 0·0001) was higher from supermarkets than most other sources. Significant interaction effects were observed between food sources and household food security for vegetables (P = 0·01), Na (P = 0·01) and %TEI from saturated fat (P = 0·004), with food-insecure participants having significantly higher intakes from food pantries and/or supermarkets compared with all other sources. Future interventions may incorporate these findings by providing education on purchasing and preparing healthy meals on limited budgets, to complement foods received from pantries, and by reducing Na in pantry environments.

Importance of Health Claims in the Adoption of New Breakfast Cereal Products in the UK

Regular breakfast consumption has the potential to prevent the prevalence of NCDs and to improve the nutritional profile of diets. Given consumers' interest in improving their diets, food suppliers are interested in introducing new cereal products making different health claims to capture consumers' attention. The purpose of this study is threefold: first, it aims to understand whether UK food suppliers are working to increase the availability of breakfast cereals with healthy and nutritious attributes; second, it explores which companies are leading the launch of these products; and third, it assesses to what extent health and nutrition claims made by breakfast cereals have an impact on their market success. The study employs an assembled database combining data from Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) and Kantar Worldpanel Dataset (KWDS) for the UK. A hazard-based duration model was used to analyse the success of the new products launched in the UK market in 2011 following them up to 2015. Our results reveal that UK suppliers broadened the number of breakfast cereals on offer in the period 2000 to 2018, with a particular focus on multigrain cereals, porridge and granola. Health and nutrition claims were added to 27% of these products. Although consumers welcome healthy alternatives such as muesli, the impact of positional claims on the success of newly developed breakfast cereals is claim-specific. No clear pattern regarding the impact of health and nutrition claims is identified. However, other elements such as celiac-friendly ingredients and UK origin do have a positive impact on the success of breakfast cereals.