Supporting students through the COVID-19 pandemic: the perspectives of food pantry workers

College students in the United States are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity, which is associated with diminished health outcomes and poor academic performance. One key resource to support students through periods of food insecurity are on-campus food pantries, which distribute food, personal hygiene products, and other essential items. But as colleges and universities navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic, many campuses closed their food pantries as the demand for their services among students grew. Few studies, however, have assessed how food pantries at academic institutions navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic to support students. With this knowledge gap in mind, our study objectives included the following: (1) to compare staff members' perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 on food pantries of academic institutions; and (2) to provide recommendations to improve campus food pantries in navigating through future public health threats.

The research team conducted a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with staff members, including directors and supervisors, of food pantries located on the campuses of colleges and universities in the state of Connecticut. Participants also completed a short post-interview survey assessing demographic information and perspectives on food insecurity-related issues impacting their respective college or university. A template organizing approach was used to allow members of the research team to create a codebook of both inductive and deductive codes and identify emergent themes from the qualitative data.

Twelve interviews were conducted, of which 7 participants represented four-year and 5 from 2-year institutions. Based on our thematic analysis if the interviews, we identified four central themes: (1) Persistent Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic Barriers to Food Pantry Utilization; (2) Innovative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) International Students' Reliance on Food Pantries at Four-Year Colleges and Universities; and (4) Demand for Non-Food-Related Items.

Our research underscores the importance of lessons gleaned by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through the lens of on-campus food pantry workers. Their unique insight and lessons learned ought to be considered when academic institutions deliberate allocating resources and making key decisions to help mitigate food insecurity concerns on their campuses.