Un-Packing the Pantry: Evaluating and Addressing Nutritional Gaps in Full Circle Food Pantry Service
Date of Graduation
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
Advisor/Mentor
Lisa Wood
Committee Member
Isabel Whitehead-Adams
Second Committee Member
Jennie Popp
Abstract
Arkansas has the highest food insecurity rate in the U.S., and college students are disproportionately food insecure. Food insecure populations tend to have worse nutrition and face poorer health outcomes, exacerbating the economic disparities they already face. The purpose of this study was to analyze specific food pantry usage trends, healthy diet access barriers, and processed food consumption drivers of Full Circle Food Pantry clients at the University of Arkansas as they related to food insecurity and nutrition disparities, as well as design a targeted project to improve nutation in an underserved client demographic. Findings supported existing literature regarding lower nutritional scores among food insecure households and food pantry users, with FCFP clients scoring 10.3 points lower on the shortened Healthy Eating Index compared to national HEI scores. Lack of nutritional knowledge, high consumption of ultra-processed foods, and inability to afford healthy food options were the strongest drivers of reduced dietary quality. Among all demographic groups, undergraduate clients had the highest food insecurity rates and lowest dietary quality scores, marking them as a demographic not having their needs met. Undergraduates faced lack of time to shop and cook and inability to afford healthy food as barriers to healthy eating and reported lower knowledge of ultra-processed food nutrition. Considering undergraduates’ less frequent in-person visitation frequency, an online infographic project was designed to improve nutritional knowledge, provide resources and strategies for eating healthy with limited time and money, and ultimately improve undergraduate client dietary quality.
Keywords
Food insecurity; nutrition; nutrition education; undergraduate nutrition; food pantry
Citation
Keith-Powell, G. J. (2026). Un-Packing the Pantry: Evaluating and Addressing Nutritional Gaps in Full Circle Food Pantry Service. Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/csesuht/58
