Table 3 Open-ended comments regarding the welcoming nature of food pantries

In your own words, please describe how your local food pantry iswelcomingto transgender or gender non-conforming people.

• They are very welcoming. Just very nice to everyone.

• I believe it’s more of a “what they don’t know won’t hurt them” situation; if they don’t know that I/someone am/is trans or gender-non-conforming, then there isn’t a problem.

• I imagine the one at the college I work at is much more welcoming than the religious pantry located nearest me.

• It is run by my college, which is accepting to the LGBT community.

• They did not care either way or didn’t notice.

• We don’t know; my girlfriend and I are both pre-op and stealth (I present female and she presents male in public).

• Food Not Bombs is very welcoming

• Second Harvest is supported by the UU church, and they support TGNC people.

• The food pantry is at my local church (ORUUC) but offers this to anyone in need in the local community. I felt welcoming and like they treated me like they would anyone else that came to them for assistance.

In your own words, please describe how your local food pantry isunwelcomingto transgender or gender non-conforming people.

• Everybody stares, whispers of “what is that”, “she’s just confused”

• We aren’t the normal racist “Christians” that seem to be the majority here.

• Hateful angry passive aggressive or just aggressive. Refusing prejudice and making remarks towards the community Spectrum. Often times I met with threats of violence or hateful looks and am treated unfairly among places like the food pantry or food stamp office to a point to where paperwork has been manipulated, dodged, thrown away, or edited

• We are surrounded by hate and transphobes

• People are required to sit through a church service, and the pastor has spoken against homosexuality, which made me uncomfortable.

• Tells us we are going to hell or there’s only two genders and go seek medical assistant

• Transgender people not allowed

• The area I live in is very bigoted, and the community harbors hate for lgbtqia folks.

• I’m in the Bible Belt, they say we do not exist or are mentally challenged

• It is Christian based and that tends not to go well for us here.

• Tennessee resents people like us. That’s fact.

• It’s in a church and not one of the ones I know tends to be lgbt friendly

• FISH pantries may be staffed by trans/homophobic volunteers

• I haven’t experienced being unwelcome at my local food pantry but I feel unwelcome by most religious based organizations and many organizations in general in this area unless I know they’re LGBTQ friendly and welcoming.