Skip to main content Giving food pantry clients choices - and gently nudging them toward nutritious foods - can lead to healthier diets Caitlin Caspi, University of Connecticut May 25, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Caitlin Caspi, University of Connecticut and Marlene B. Schwartz, University of Connecticut (THE CONVERSATION) Food banks and pantries across the U.S. were forced in the pandemic to dispense with something that is central to most people’s grocery experience: choice. Faced with social-distancing rules and a large uptick in need – by one estimate these nonprofits served 55% more people – for the most part, clients were offered prepacked bags or boxes of food rather than allowed to pick from shelves themselves, as was increasingly common before the pandemic.