Partners’, Providers’, and Rural Older Adults’ Perspectives on Minnesota’s Emergency Food System Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our aim was to capture the perspectives of emergency food system (EFS) partners, providers, and rural older adults who receive emergency foods on their experiences throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews with partners in Minnesota’s EFS (n = 9), rural emergency food providers (n = 5), and rural older adults who receive emergency food (n = 14) between July 2022 and February 2023. We used template analysis, a rapid qualitative method, to identify recurring perspectives across interviews. The pandemic required shifts in how providers delivered services, but their established networks, their adaptability, and substantial support enabled them to make necessary pivots. Challenges include increasing use with decreasing support, labor capacity, and the need for quality foods. Concerns about inflation-driven food insecurity and increasing reliance on the EFS were common in the context of sunsetting pandemic-related programs. Our results support that the substantial support provided throughout the pandemic enabled the EFS to continue providing services and meeting the needs of underserved populations, such as rural older adults. Policymakers should reinstate or extend the pandemic-era strategies that supported household food security and enabled the EFS to continue providing services.