Psychosocial Barriers to Equitable Food Access: A Qualitative Analysis of Food Pantries in Northern Indiana

The prevalence of food insecurity in the United States is significant and the consequences transcend hunger to include chronic health conditions. While physical barriers such as lack of transportation and limited pantry resources exist, more subtle psychosocial barriers such as expectations of gratitude and self-fulfilling prophecy may undermine the goals of pantries in diminishing food insecurity. Thus, we report on the results of surveys performed at 64 food pantries in Northern Indiana exploring the disconnect between client and pantry staff perceptions and possible contributors to that disconnect while also discussing implications for the aforementioned, preventable psychosocial barriers. The psychosocial barriers discussed are subtle and often go unnoticed, as most of them can be implicit in nature. Therefore, when discussing food pantries and their contributions to people who grapple with food insecurity, it is imperative to keep the subtleties in mind. Foregoing the uncomfortable confrontation of these harmful modalities may mean perpetuating food insecurity in the very population food pantries hope to serve. Our findings elucidate the importance of self-awareness, strong means of communication, and intentional compassion being the forefront of the pantry-client relationship.