Montreal Food Bank Users' Intakes Compared With Recommendations of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating

Demand for food assistance in Canada has grown throughout the 1990s. In a survey of the sociodemographic and nutritional characteristics of 428 adult food bank users, we used results of four 24-hour recall interviews to determine the number of servings from Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating food groups these clients were consuming. Our intent was to use a resource familiar to diverse audiences to describe the food intake of Montreal-area food bank clients. No age group and neither gender met the minimum target intake level for milk products. Mean intake of grain products and meat and alternatives met or exceeded minimum recommended levels. Women between the ages of 18 and 49 years consumed fewer servings of vegetables and fruit than the recommended minimum (4.9+/-3.2 servings). In general, food bank users' mean intakes were no worse than those of the Quebec general population, although their intake of milk products was lower. However, the mean number of food group servings varied greatly and reflected very low intakes by some food-bank clients. Nutrition education based on Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating may be one approach that food banks can take to help clients broaden the number and variety of foods consumed.