Food assistance use barriers, facilitators, and recommendations: insights from a qualitative study of racially and ethnically diverse parents

The objective of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to utilising a range of food assistance resources as reported by parents living with or at risk for food insecurity (FI), as well as parents' recommendations for improving utilisation of these resources. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews about parents' perspectives on interventions to address FI were analysed using a hybrid deductive/inductive thematic approach. Parents were drawn from the larger Family Matters longitudinal cohort study (N = 1,307), which was recruited from primary care clinics in Minnesota. Forty racially and ethnically diverse parents (M-age = 38.5 years; 97.5% mothers; 85% parents of colour) were recruited by food security level, with ten parents representing each level (i.e. high, marginal, low, very low). Six overarching qualitative themes were identified, which indicated the importance of (1) comfort level seeking assistance; (2) routine screening to assess need; (3) advertising, referrals, and outreach; (4) adequacy of policies and programmes to address need; (5) resource proximity and delivery; and (6) acceptability of foods/benefits provided. With some exceptions, these themes were generally represented from more than one angle (i.e. as barriers, facilitators, recommendations) and raised as relevant across different types of assistance (e.g. federal food assistance programmes, food pantries) and different settings (e.g. schools, healthcare). This study identified key factors influencing food assistance utilisation across multiple dimensions of access. These factors-which range from psychosocial to logistical in nature-should be considered in efforts to expand the reach of food assistance programmes and, in turn, improve food security among families.