FINATA
Food insecurity among food bank users (FINATA)
Brief description:
“Food insecurity of food bank customers in rural and non-rural regions - influencing factors, need for intervention and solutions”
In Germany, up to 1.65 million people receive food from one of the more than 940 food banks. Customers of food distribution points such as food banks are disproportionately often food insecure. However, previous studies on this topic have only included non-representative samples in medium-sized and large cities. However, food bank customers in rural and urban areas are likely to differ in important multifactorial correlates of food insecurity, such as shopping behavior and social support. The FINATA project aims to compare the resources of food banks and the need for support of their customers concerning food security. To achieve these goals, an internet-based survey of all 940 local food banks is planned, followed by a written survey of food bank customers. In detail, the project will identify the personnel and structural resources of the local food banks, the prevalence of food insecurity, and associated protective and risk factors among food bank customers. The purchasing behavior and social support of food bank customers will also be recorded. In addition to gaining scientific knowledge, the results of the study will be used to improve the allocation of large donations following the needs of food bank customers, the design of new needs-based food bank programs, and the further development of existing food bank concepts (e.g. mobile food banks, food bank meeting points) as well as for the design of target group and needs-based educational programs for food bank activists.
The project is being funded for three years by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and is being carried out in cooperation with the Bildungsakademie der Tafel Deutschland gGmbH, or Tafel-Akademie gGmbH for short.
Duration of the project:
01.06.2019 - 31.12.2022
Project team:
Prof. Nanette Ströbele-Benschop, Ph.D.
Project funding:
