Figure 4.

Barriers to accessing food assistance among food-insecure emerging adults. Themes and examples of quotes from participants in the COVID-19 Eating and Activity over Time interview study from July to October 2020.

Theme	Example quote (participant characteristics)
Qualifying for federal food assistance	I was getting SNAPa for a while, but then once I started working they dropped mine down to $30 a month or something for food stamps. During the pandemic like COVID and all that, once that hit and they started giving out the pandemic EBTb or whatever it was, they gave us an extra $100 . . . it still just wasn’t enough because now my son wasn’t in day care anymore, so where his childcare was providing breakfast, lunch, and two snacks, I had to provide that at home when normally out of my work money I was paying for just dinner and maybe a couple snacks here and there. (Parent, mixed/other race, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WICcbenefits) I have always been declined any time that I’ve tried. They always say I make too much money, or this or that. But, like, I mean, I don’t make too much money and I like, legitimately need, need help . . . I have applied, but I just, it never works out . . . I, I mean, yeah. I would just say like, if it asks for you money and like, how much you, you know, you work, all that stuff and, I would say just put into account that the money I make doesn’t all, you know, like, there’s other things like, I feel like they don’t, like, account for bills and the fact that people have other things going on. (Not a parent, White, food insufficient, no household receipt of SNAP/WIC)
Locating food pantries and hours of operation	So I counted a lot on the food shelf, but once again, I sometimes don’t even get to that because I work my 8 hours and then I go, because I live in [city name], so I have to drive all the way to [city name] to drop off my kids and then drive to [city name] to work . . . So we wake up at 4 in the morning to make it, and it impacts our sleep a lot. (Parent, Asian, food insufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits) Yeah, I mean, I don’t even know where a food shelf is around here. The only ones I’ve ever known are out in [city name]. Or, like, you know, what I would even need to, to use them. So, I mean, I would say that, like, just getting the word out there more, making it more accessible to people and . . . Yeah, just not make it so, I’m not gonna say hard, ’cause I don’t really think it’ll probably be hard, just not as accessible, I guess I’ll just say. (Not a parent, White, food sufficient, no household receipt of SNAP/WIC) I just think just knowing the locations, where exactly they are, because sometimes I can like research it online and sort of like, “They’re in this place,” but when I end up just going, driving through, around it, there’s nothing in there, or there’s nobody just standing . . . like maybe I’m just going on the wrong time? Or it’s just maybe the time that I search it out also, I end up searching it out late, and when I go they’re not there. Or maybe I got the wrong information? (Parent, Hispanic, food insufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits)
Healthy food availability at food pantries	I went to the food shelf around my neighborhood. Once every month you could go, but usually the one that I go to, they run out of stuff most of the time because there’s not enough to go around . . . Well, it’s kind of like a first come first served kind of thing . . . [I received] older vegetables. Most of them had, not mold on them, but you know when it’s getting old? (Parent, Hispanic, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits) There’s things that you might want and you don’t get and the challenge with the pantry on campus is that there’s no refrigeration and so they can’t provide those sort of things. They can do shelf-stable items and that’s why occasionally you have the order of produce, and that’s just dependent on if they had a donation that week. Definitely those perishable items are normally missing and sometimes can be the most expensive things from the store. (Not a parent, White, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits) Yeah, definitely. More fresh fruit and vegetables I think would’ve been really helpful. But I know those are really hard to come by, because it’s just more of they are giving it out on donation basis. (Not a parent, Asian, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits)
Safety concerns at food pickup locations	Actually the food shelf line people have been fighting the last 2 or 3 times we went. No violence, but people like skipping in the line. People like screaming and fighting before it can get started. People are going up in the lines, grab stuff when we’re not supposed to, all kinds of different things . . . There needs to be like real enforcement, and I’m not talking about someone yelling, I’m talking about police or something . . . or just maybe like a harsher penalty or something for not following rules . . . my grandma actually died of COVID. (Not a parent, White, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits) The school was easier and I felt a little safer because it was less people and everybody was wearing masks and you just pull up with your car and they give you the food. At the drive-up one, you get a bag and you’re picking food from other bags and you’re around all these people. Some have masks. Some don’t. (Parent, Black, food sufficient, household received SNAP/WIC benefits)

^aSNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

^bEBT = electronic benefit transfer.

^cWIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.