“
TL;DR
Key challenges included limited cold storage capacity, restrictive food bank policies, and issues with the quality of donated foods, while opportunities involved community partnerships and policy changes.
BMC Public Health · 7 authors, 3 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
Key challenges included limited cold storage capacity, restrictive food bank policies, and issues with the quality of donated foods, while opportunities involved community partnerships and policy changes.
Using a basic interpretive approach, transcripts were coded to identify challenges and opportunities across five levels of influence. Central findings indicated that fresh food distribution was impacted by community partners, food bank policies, and the quality of donated foods, with physical constraints like limited cold storage being a major barrier. The pandemic magnified existing stressors but also highlighted the value of community partnerships for resilience. The implications suggest that targeted initiatives at pantry, food bank, and policy levels could improve fresh food distribution in the charitable food system.