A051 ACCESS TO FOOD ALLERGY SUPPORT AND RESOURCES IN A RACIALLY DIVERSE, LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY IS LACKING

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of community restaurants (CRs), managed by the Government of the State of Bahia/Brazil, for the dimension of access to food. The study used secondary data obtained from the public opinion survey Profile of users of community restaurants in Salvador. The nutritional information was accessed through the analysis of CRs’ menus. Adequate effectiveness of access to food was considered when the CR served meals to 50% to 70% of the users considered the target audience (individuals served by the two CRs located in the city of Salvador/Bahia/Brazil). The participants (n = 1464; 778 as low-income individuals) were adult CR users from Salvador/Brazil. Most of the respondents were male, 40 to 54 years old, not white, had up to 9 years of formal education, without a partner, and living in the municipality of Salvador. The evaluated CRs are effective in serving 53.1% of the target population in their total service capacity. Meal provision only reached an estimated 0.7% of the socially vulnerable community in the district. The average energy value of the meal served by the CR units was 853.05 kcal/meal, with a mean energy density composition classified as average (1.15 kcal/g). The effectiveness of the evaluated community restaurants showed that these instruments were minimally effective in promoting access to food for the low-income population within their total daily service capacity, and the current quantity of these facilities was insufficient. However, these instruments stand out in the fundamental role of promoting the daily distribution of meals to the Brazilian population with the highest social vulnerability levels.

Download Full-text

Lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation in food purchasing and preparation among low-income mothers

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980007334058 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 396-404 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Tamara Dubowitz ◽

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia ◽

Judy Salkeld ◽

Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽

SV Subramanian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Low Income ◽

Metropolitan Areas ◽

Food Preparation ◽

Immigrant Status ◽

Food Purchasing ◽

Study Results ◽

The Usa ◽

Low Income Women ◽

Access To Food

AbstractObjectivesThis study investigates how lifecourse, immigrant status and acculturation, and neighbourhood of residence influence food purchasing and preparation among low-income women with children, living in the USA. This research sought to understand physical and economic access to food, from both ‘individual’ and ‘community’ perspectives.DesignThis study used qualitative methodology (focus groups) to examine the mechanisms and pathways of food preparation and purchasing within the context of daily life activity for US- and foreign-born women, living in the USA. The study methodology analysed notes and verbatim transcripts, summarised recurring responses and identified new themes in the discussions.Setting and subjectsA total of 44 women were purposively sampled from two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, USA, based on (1) neighbourhood of residence and (2) primary language spoken. All focus groups were conducted in community health centres and community centres co-located with offices of the special supplemental nutritional programme for Women, Infants, and Children.ResultsAnalysis of key response themes suggested that scarcity of food and physical access to food purchasing points did not influence food purchasing and preparation as much as (1) limited time for food shopping, cooking and family activities; and (2) challenges in transportation to stores and childcare. The study results demonstrated differing attitudes toward food acquisition and preparation between immigrant and US-born women and between women who lived in two metropolitan areas in the western and eastern regions of the state of Massachusetts, USA.ConclusionsThe findings illustrate ‘hidden’ constraints that need to be captured in measures of physical and economic access and availability of food. US policies and programmes that aim to improve access, availability and diet quality would benefit from considering the social context of food preparation and purchasing, and the residential environments of low-income women and families.

Download Full-text

Mothers of children with food allergies report poorer perceived life status which may be explained by limited career choices

Allergy Asthma & Clinical Immunology ◽

10.1186/s13223-021-00515-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tara Lynn Mary Frykas ◽

Michael Golding ◽

Elissa M. Abrams ◽

Elinor Simons ◽

Jennifer Lisa Penner Protudjer

Keyword(s):

Food Allergy ◽

Low Income ◽

Career Choices ◽

Food Allergies ◽

Allergic Child ◽

Intangible Costs ◽

Statistics Canada ◽

Using Data

AbstractPediatric food allergy is associated with direct, indirect and intangible costs. However, it remains unclear if intangible costs of pediatric food allergy influence parental career choices. Using data from 63 parents whose children had been diagnosed by a pediatric allergist with food allergy, we sought to (a) establish perceived life status of families with a food allergic child, and (b) to describe any career limitations viewed as attributable to food allergy. Compared to responding parents whose children had one to two food allergies, those with three or more food allergies had significantly poorer perceived life status (ß − 0.74; 95%CI − 1.41; − 0.07; p < 0.05). Overall, 14.3% of parents (all mothers) reported career limitations due to food allergy. Two of the 7 mothers (28.6%) who reported career limitations due to their child's food allergy fell below Statistics Canada cut-off for low-income, after tax dollars (LIM-AT). One of the three mothers who had changed jobs because of their child's food allergy was below the LIM-AT. No fathers reported food allergy-related career limitations. In conclusion, mothers of children with multiple food allergies reported worse perceived life status that may be partly explained by food allergy-related career limitations.

Download Full-text

The Role of Women in Improving Access to Food at the Household Level in Mandeni Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

African Journal of Gender, Society and Development (formerly Journal of Gender, Information and Development in Africa) ◽

10.31920/2634-3622/2021/v10n2a8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 135-155

Author(s):

Nondumiso Thabisile Mpanza ◽

Mfaniseni Wiseman Mbatha

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Low Income ◽

Home Gardens ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Exploratory Research ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Household Level ◽

Role Of Women ◽

Access To Food

This paper censoriously assesses the role of women in improving access to food at the household level. The role of women is essential in the production of food as caretakers of household food security. However, their role is not well recognised, more especially in policymaking and resource allocation. This study was conducted through a qualitative approach with an exploratory research design. The participants were sampled with convenience sampling and interviewed with semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was employed as a tool for data analysis. The study adopted feminisation of poverty as a primary theory of this paper. Certain aspects of the study reveal that women have been struggling to access food from the diversity of retail vents that are obtainable in town because of low income and limitations of transport service. This is a constraint to women who depend on the off-farm sources of income because their household’s livelihood depends on purchasing food from retail vents. Those who rely on home gardens were experiencing low productivity and the unsustainability of their gardens. This has been caused by water scarcity and climate change. Therefore, women must be provided with training that seeks to develop their skills on how to make effective use of home gardens so that food security can be ensured.

Download Full-text

Diabetes and Co-morbid Depression Among Racially Diverse, Low-Income Adults

Annals of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1007/s12160-010-9241-1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 300-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Chandra Y. Osborn ◽

Kushal A. Patel ◽

Jianguo Liu ◽

Hollister W. Trott ◽

Maciej S. Buchowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Racially Diverse

Download Full-text

Neighborhood built environment impacts park use of diverse, low-income mothers and their children

Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living ◽

10.51250/jheal.v1i3.16 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 98-110

Author(s):

Lauren Mullenbach ◽

Lincoln Larson ◽

Myron Floyd ◽

Oriol Marquet ◽

Jing-Huei Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Low Income ◽

The United States ◽

Racially Diverse ◽

Perceived Safety ◽

Neighborhood Walkability ◽

Park Use ◽

Physical Health Outcomes ◽

Low Income Mothers ◽

Neighborhood Built Environment

Built environment features, including parks, often exacerbate health disparities. We examined built environment perceptions and park use among a population at high risk for physical health outcomes: racially diverse, low-income mothers across the United States. Perceived safety from crime and living near a park were associated with more frequent park use for mothers and their children, and neighborhood walkability was linked to longer park visits. However, only 40% of mothers lived within a ten-minute walk from a park, and perceptions of walkability and safety from crime were low. To enhance physical activity and health of low-income mothers and their children, investments are needed to close disparities in park access and improve neighborhood safety.

Download Full-text