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

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 69; p. 1605833
• Main Authors: Pérez, Elsury Johanna, Carabali, Mabel, Mercille, Geneviève, Sylvestre, Marie-Pierre, Roncarolo, Federico, Potvin, Louise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 2024
• Subjects: alternative food sources; Bayes Theorem; Canada; community-based food programs; food access; Food Assistance; food banks; Fruit; Humans; Quebec; Canada; Quebec; Canada; alternative food sources; community-based food programs; Quebec; food banks; food assistance; food access
• ISSN: 1661-8564; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1605833

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. 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. We observed an overall downward trend of food donation use among study completers ( = 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. FB-users use food donations in different ways over time according to specific contextual AFSU profiles.