title: The Nutritional Quality of Food Provided from Food Pantries: A Systematic Review of Existing Literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In many affluent countries, food-insecure households use food pantries to keep their family fed. The long-term dependence of many users on these programs calls for a systematic review of studies on the nutritional quality of food provided by food pantries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the current scientific evidence about the nutritional quality of food bags distributed by food pantries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Psychology Behavioral Sciences Collection to identify cross-sectional, cohort, and intervention studies reporting baseline data conducted in high-income countries and published between 1980 and 2015, which reported the nutritional quality of food bags distributed by food pantries. Identified citations were screened in two stages and data were independently extracted by two authors using a predefined data sheet. The quality of included studies was evaluated using criteria of an adapted Ottawa Scale. The systematic review was reported in accordance to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Applying the two-stage screening, 9 of 1,546 articles were identified for inclusion. Nutritional quality of food bags varied widely between and within studies. Milk products, vitamins A and C, and calcium were provided in particularly low amounts. None of the studies were nationally representative and only a few studies controlled for the household composition of the recipients of food bags.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Food pantries likely have a strong influence on users' diets, but the food pantries examined in the selected studies were largely unable to support healthy diets. The distribution of more perishable foods would increase users' diet quality and may have an immense potential to address malnutrition in vulnerable population groups.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simmet
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Depa
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tinnemann
authors.forename: Nanette
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stroebele-Benschop
mesh_terms: D003611:Dairy Products / Q000032:analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D002149:Energy Intake; D063105:Food Assistance; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009753:Nutritive Value; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients
keywords: Charitable food assistance; Food banks; Food insecurity; Food supply; Poverty