Frymark Emily E, Stickford Jonathon L, Farris Alisha R
Appalachian State University.
J Appalach Health. 2020 Apr 15;2(2):24-35. doi: 10.13023/jah.0202.03. eCollection 2020.
Food insecurity is a growing concern among college students and is especially prevalent in rural areas. Food pantries often serve as a resource to food insecure individuals yet, their policies, standards, and nutritional quality vary due to the unpredictability of food donations.
To examine the nutritional quality of food items and adherence of best practices at local food pantries accessible to college students near a university in rural Appalachia.
Three food pantries in North Carolina were selected due to their proximity to a local, rural university. Food items were analyzed for nutrient and food group content and compared to national recommended standards for a moderately active 20-year-old male student. Food pantry environments were analyzed using the Healthy Food Pantry Assessment Tool (HFPAT).
All pantries scored in acceptable ranges (39, 59, and 60) on the HFPAT. Food pantries provided 38% of total daily calories and below recommended daily levels for vitamin C (27%), vitamin D (5%), potassium (29%), and calcium (38%), but above recommended levels for sugar (220%), and trans-fat (342%). When all the food from food pantries were combined, they still did not meet food group recommendations, providing: 25% fruit, 50% vegetable, 9% grain, 15% protein, and 20% dairy servings over a 14-day period.
In general, students who rely on food pantries as their sole source of food do not reach recommend levels for nutrients or food groups. Interventions, programs, and/or policies which increase the healthfulness of food pantry items are warranted to improve the quality of food available to food insecure college students.
粮食不安全问题在大学生中日益受到关注，在农村地区尤为普遍。食品救济站通常是粮食不安全人群的资源，但由于食品捐赠的不可预测性，其政策、标准和营养质量各不相同。
研究阿巴拉契亚农村地区一所大学附近可供大学生使用的当地食品救济站的食品营养质量和最佳实践的遵循情况。
选择北卡罗来纳州的三个食品救济站，因为它们靠近当地的一所农村大学。对食品项目的营养成分和食物类别含量进行分析，并与一名适度活跃的20岁男性学生的国家推荐标准进行比较。使用健康食品救济站评估工具（HFPAT）对食品救济站的环境进行分析。
所有食品救济站在HFPAT上的得分都在可接受范围内（39、59和60）。食品救济站提供的热量占每日总热量摄入的38%，维生素C（27%）、维生素D（5%）、钾（29%）和钙（38%）低于推荐的每日摄入量，但糖（220%）和反式脂肪（342%）高于推荐水平。当将食品救济站的所有食物加在一起时，它们仍未达到食物类别建议，在14天内提供的食物类别比例为：水果25%、蔬菜50%、谷物9%、蛋白质15%和乳制品20%。
一般来说，依靠食品救济站作为唯一食物来源的学生无法达到营养或食物类别的推荐水平。有必要采取干预措施、项目和/或政策来提高食品救济站食品的健康程度，以改善粮食不安全大学生可获得的食物质量。
