Date of Conferral

2-5-2026

Degree

Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A)

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Steve Matarelli

Abstract

A south-suburban Cook County, IL city lacks grocery stores with high-quality food options, which contributes to food insecurity. Residents often rely on highly processed, low-nutrient foods, contributing to nutritional vulnerability. Friendship Church’s food bank sporadically serves this food desert, but sustaining its operations is challenging. Using community-based participatory action research design and the food security theory, data were collected from 25 semistructured interviews with food bank beneficiaries and church staff/volunteers and analyzed using reflective thematic analysis. The four dimensions were examined: availability, access, utilization, and stability. Two questions guided the research: How do parishioners in one south-suburban Cook County community perceive and use the healthy food options provided by the Friendship Church’s food bank program? and What actionable recommendations can enhance the programs’ effectiveness and stability to meet the nutritional needs of parishioners? Four key themes emerged: resource accessibility and quality, strong community support, relational trust, and barriers to utilization, including scheduling constraints and limited variety. Recommendations intended to improve public administrative practice include expanding volunteer recruitment, adopting flexible operating hours, and building partnerships with Cook County to broaden donation networks and promote public administration policies favorable to community giving. The deliverable outlined Cook County donation resources, guidelines, and eligibility criteria, and confirmed the community’s need for a fully operational, sustainable food bank program to improve food security, which can promote positive social change by potentially increasing food access.

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