SNAP, campus food insecurity, and the politics of deservingness
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10460-021-10273-3.
SUBMITTER: Dickinson M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8515333 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:This paper makes several contributions to the literature regarding the measurement of food insecurity and implications for estimating factors that affect this outcome. First, we show that receipt of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has a systematic effect on responses to questions in the 12-month food security module (FSM). We find that the probability of affirming more severe food hardships items, and the probability of being classified as having very low food security (VLFS), is higher just before and just after households receive their benefits. This leads to an under-estimate of VLFS by 3.2 percentage points for the SNAP sample (about 17 percent of prevalence). We also provide informative bounds on the relationship between SNAP and VLFS and show that the treatment effect of SNAP on VLFS is also likely underestimated.
| S-EPMC7906471 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Comprehensive assessment of food insecurity across all college community members is lacking. This research surveyed a random sample of an entire campus population at a Northeast University in two surveys (spring 2017, n = 1,037 and fall 2017, n = 1,123). Analysis of variance, t-tests, and multivariable logit models were used to understand food insecurity outcomes and comparisons among groups. The overall rate of food insecurity on campus was 19.6% (spring) and 15.0% (fall). Food insecurity rates were highest among undergraduates, graduate and medical students, and staff as compared to faculty. First generation students and off-campus students were also more likely to be food insecure in both surveys, while people of color were more likely to be food insecure in the spring survey. Findings suggest university members beyond undergraduates also face high rates of food insecurity, which has important implications for efforts to reduce food insecurity on college campuses.
| S-EPMC7458338 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The burden of obesity disproportionately influences poor health outcomes in rural communities in the United States. Various social and environmental factors contribute to inadequate food access and availability in rural areas, influencing dietary intakes and food insecurity rates. This study aims to identify patterns related to food insecurity and fruit and vegetable consumption within a SNAP-eligible and low-income, highly obese rural Appalachian community. A prospective cohort was implemented to identify gaps in resources addressing obesity and food insecurity challenges. SAS 9.4 software was used to examine differences in dietary intakes and shopping practices among SNAP participants. Among participants (n = 152), most reported an annual household income less than USD 20,000 (n = 90, 60.4%), 29.1% reported food insecurity, and 39.5% reported receiving SNAP benefits within the last month. The overall mean FV intake was 3.46 daily servings (95% CI: 3.06-3.91) among all participants. SNAP participation was associated with food insecurity (p = 0.007) and those participating in SNAP were two times more likely to report being food insecure (OR = 2.707, 95% CI: 1.317, 5.563), relative to non-participants. These findings further depict the need for intervention, as the burden of food insecurity persists. Tailoring health-promoting initiatives to consider rurality and SNAP participation is vital for sustainable success among these populations.
| S-EPMC7504289 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTo achieve zero hunger targets set within the United Nations' Agenda 2030, high-income countries such as Australia must reconsider current efforts to improve food security. This study aimed to; explore perspectives from public health nutrition experts on the usefulness of drawing on the international human right to food, and associated mechanisms, to address food insecurity; identify potential roles of key stakeholders in Australia to implement a rights-based approach; and examine barriers and enablers to achieving the right to food in Australia.MethodsQualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants (> 10 years professional experience). Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase approach to thematic analysis was employed to analyse data, using Kingdon's multiple streams framework (1984) to examine interactive variables which affect policy-making processes.ResultsThirty interviews took place, with most participants representing academia (n = 16), majority had 10-14 years of experience (n = 12) and almost one quarter (n = 7) were in senior leadership roles. Participants believed that framing food insecurity as a human rights issue could be effective when communicating with some audiences, however alternative rhetoric is more popular and potentially more effective. Citizens, government, food industry, non-profit sector, research/tertiary and legal institutions were described as playing critical roles. Barriers to progress were identified as lack of awareness and acknowledgement of the problem, prioritisation of the private sector, lack of political will and domestic laws, and an inefficient/ineffective charitable food sector. Participants identified various enablers and opportunities for implementing a rights-based approach such as grass-roots advocacy efforts to raise awareness of the issue, integrating human rights into government frameworks and community projects and the political will to support action aligned with sustainable development.ConclusionsHuman rights language and mechanisms have the potential to trigger genuine commitment to addressing food insecurity however should be used with caution. Australia's public health workforce requires increased capacity to implement a human-rights approach and framing such efforts to align with sustainable development may achieve greater political action.Trial registrationEthics approval was received from the Deakin University Human Research Ethics committee (project ID HEAG 168_2018).
| S-EPMC8197601 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Food insecurity and inadequate nutrition are two major challenges that contribute to poor health conditions among U.S. households. Ohioans continue to face food insecurity, and rates of food insecurity in rural Southeast Ohio are higher than the state average. The main purpose of this project is to evaluate the associations between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and food security in rural Ohio, and to explore the association between SNAP participation and fruit/vegetable consumption. We control for food shopping patterns, such as shopping frequency, because previous research reports a significant relationship between shopping patterns and food security. To achieve our purpose, we use novel household-level data on food insecurity and SNAP participation in rural Southeast Ohio, collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that people who experience higher levels of food insecurity than others are more likely to participate in SNAP, though this is likely a function of selection bias. To correct for the bias, we employ the nearest neighbor matching method to match treated (SNAP participant) and untreated (similar SNAP nonparticipant) groups. We find that participating in SNAP increases the probability of being food secure by around 26 percentage points after controlling for primary food shopping patterns. We do not find any significant association between SNAP participation and estimated intake of fruits and vegetables. This study provides policymakers with suggestive evidence that SNAP is associated with food security in rural Southeast Ohio during the pandemic, and what additional factors may mediate these relationships.
| S-EPMC10852251 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Among rural families, rates of both child obesity and household food insecurity (FI) are higher compared to non-rural families. These disparities result from a complex interplay of social and environmental conditions that influence behavior. The Transtheoretical Model suggests individual readiness to change underlies success in modifying obesity-preventing behaviors; however, whether an association between readiness to change obesity-related behaviors and FI status among rural families exists is unknown. We examined the association between readiness to change family-level nutrition and physical activity (PA) behaviors that predict child obesity and family FI status within a sample of rural families to better understand these relationships. Families (n = 144) were recruited from six rural Oregon communities in 2013. Families completed a FI screener and the Family Stage of Change Survey (FSOC), a measure of readiness to change family-level nutrition and PA behaviors associated with obesity. Demographic differences by FI status were explored, and regression was applied to examine relationships between FI and FSOC scores, adjusting for relevant covariates. Among FI families (40.2%), more were non-white (77.8% vs. 22.2%; p = 0.036) and had lower adult education (30.4% vs. 11.8% with > high school degree; p = 0.015) compared to non-FI families. After adjusting for education, race, ethnicity, and eligibility for federal meal programs, readiness to provide opportunities for PA was lower among FI families (p = 0.002). These data highlight a need to further investigate how food insecurity and low readiness to provide PA opportunities, i.e. "physical activity insecurity" may be contributing to the higher obesity rates observed among rural children and families.
| S-EPMC5560121 | biostudies-other
Project description:The purpose of this study was to explore barriers Texas Woman's University (TWU) students face in accessing on-campus food pantries. This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in Fall 2021. Students' use of the food pantries and barriers to utilization, including qualitative questions, were evaluated using descriptive statistics and thematic analyses. Students (n = 529) completed the survey. Despite a high prevalence of food insecurity (49.2%), most students reported never using the pantries (89.8%). Almost half of the students were unaware that these pantries existed on campus (47.8%). More than one in four students believed there were barriers to accessing the pantries, with time tissues, lack of transportation, limited food pantry hours of operation, and social stigma most commonly cited as major barriers to access. Food insecurity remains an urgent problem at TWU since the prevalence has remained high since 2019 despite the institutions' efforts to reduce it. One of those resources has not been utilized as expected, which might impede improvements in food security among students. TWU on-campus food pantries can use these findings to address major barriers by offering after-hours access through the libraries or campus police, partnering with public transportation, and normalizing accessing food assistance.
| S-EPMC9324299 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased food-insecurity rates, particularly among low-income households. Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was expected to rise in response. We surveyed 931 US residents from households with annual incomes below $50,000 to collect information on food security and food assistance program participation in the year prior to the pandemic and in the first four months of the pandemic, along with household and individual-level demographics. Food insecurity increased from 31% prior to the pandemic to 39% in the first four months of the pandemic, while SNAP participation stagnated. Even more alarmingly, among low-income households that were also food-insecure, 47% participated in SNAP prior to the pandemic but only 39% did so in the first four months following the pandemic's onset. In particular, Black households, households with children, and those in the lowest income category experienced the largest declines in SNAP participation. Food assistance programs designed to alleviate hunger should facilitate participation among the most vulnerable, especially when these groups are faced with multiple challenges, like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC8437829 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Food insecurity (FI) has been associated with hospitalization, although the pathways underlying this relationship are poorly understood, in part due to the potential for a bidirectional relationship. This study aimed to determine associations of FI with concurrent and future hospitalization among older adults; mediation by depression and; whether hospitalization increased risk of FI. Participants came from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; n = 13,664). HRS is a prospective cohort representative of U.S. adults over the age of 50. Primary analyses included those who were not hospitalized in 2012 (n = 11,776). Not having enough money to buy necessary food or eating less than desired defined food insecurity. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form provided depression symptomology. Logistic and linear regression examined concurrent and longitudinal associations of FI in 2012 and 2014 with hospitalization in 2014. Path analysis tested mediation of FI with hospitalization frequency by depression symptomology. Finally, logistic regression examined whether hospitalization in 2012 was longitudinally associated with FI in 2014. FI was not associated with future hospitalization (odds ratio (OR) = 1.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9-1.4), however; FI was associated with concurrent hospitalization status (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1-1.8). Depression symptomology explained 17.4% (95% CI = 2.8-32.0%) the association of FI with concurrent hospitalization frequency. Additionally, hospitalization was associated with becoming food insecure (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.2-2.0). Findings may inform best practices for hospital discharge among older adults.
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Project description: Not available
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