The Implementation of a Nutrition Intervention in Food Pantries: The Spirit of SWAP.

Background. Food insecurity, affecting approximately 10% of the U.S. population, with up to 40% or higher in some communities, is associated with higher rates of chronic conditions and inversely associated with diet quality. Nutrition interventions implemented at food pantries are an effective strategy to increase healthy food choices and improve health outcomes for people experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP), a stoplight nutrition ranking system, can facilitate healthy food procurement and distribution at pantries. Purpose. Guided by the RE-AIM Framework, this study assesses the implementation and outcomes of SWAP as nutritional guidance and institutional policy intervention, to increase procurement and distribution of healthy foods in pantries. Method. Mixed-methods evaluation included observations, process forms, and in-depth interviews. Food inventory assessments were conducted at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Results. Two large pantries in New Haven, Connecticut, collectively reaching more than 12,200 individuals yearly, implemented SWAP in 2019. Implementation was consistent prepandemic at both pantries. Due to COVID-mandated distribution changes, pantries adapted SWAP implementation during the pandemic while still maintaining the "spirit of SWAP." One pantry increased the percentage of Green foods offered. Challenges to healthy food distribution are considered. Discussion. This study has implications for policy, systems, and environmental changes. It shows the potential for SWAP adoption at pantries, which can serve as a guide for continued healthy food procurement and advocacy. Maintaining the "spirit of SWAP" shows promising results for food pantries looking to implement nutrition interventions when standard practice may not be possible.

Coalition Building and Food Insecurity: How an Equity and Justice Framework Guided a Viable Food Assistance Network.

Food insecurity is widespread in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the need for food assistance and created opportunities for collaboration among historically-siloed organizations. Research has demonstrated the importance of coalition building and community organizing in Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) change and its potential to address equitable access to food, ultimately improving population health outcomes. In New Haven, community partners formed a coalition to address systems-level issues in the local food assistance system through the Greater New Haven Coordinated Food Assistance Network (CFAN). Organizing the development of CFAN within the framework of Collaborating for Equity and Justice (CEJ) reveals a new way of collaborating with communities for social change with an explicit focus on equity and justice. A document review exploring the initiation and growth of the network found that 165 individuals, representing 63 organizations, participated in CFAN since its inception and collaborated on 50 actions that promote food access and overall health. Eighty-one percent of these actions advanced equitable resource distribution across the food system, with forty-five percent focused on coordinating food programs to meet the needs of underserved communities. With the goal of improving access to food while addressing overall equity within the system, the authors describe CFAN as a potential community organizing model in food assistance systems.