scholarly journals Comparison of Emergency Preparedness Practices between Food Assistance Program Participants and Non-Participants in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 12937
Author(s):  
Gina J. Fung ◽  
Laura K. Jefferies ◽  
Michelle A. Lloyd Call ◽  
Dennis L. Eggett ◽  
Rickelle Richards
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Food Assistance Programs ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
The Impact

Background: Previous research has suggested many households are meeting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 3-day emergency food and water storage recommendations. The impact of limited economic household resources on emergency preparedness practices related to food and water is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to compare emergency preparedness practices in households participating in United States’ food assistance programs with households not participating in these programs. Methods: A convenience sample of adults (n = 572) completed an online Qualtrics survey. Descriptive statistics, chi-square statistics, and independent t-tests were used to measure differences between households participating in food assistance programs vs. non-participating households. Results: Most households participating in food assistance programs felt prepared to provide household members with food and water during an emergency, which did not significantly differ from non-participating households. Households using food assistance programs had less accessible cash but had similar foods on-hand for an emergency compared to non-participating households. However, they more frequently reported having baby formula/food and less frequently reported having vitamin/mineral supplements compared to non-participating households. Conclusions: Food assistance programs may be effective in providing enough food and water to help low-income families be prepared for an emergency.

Food Assistance Programs and Food Security

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Gundersen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Food Assistance Programs ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

Food insecurity is a leading public-health challenge in the United States today. This is primarily due to the magnitude of the problem—about 50 million persons are food insecure—and the serious negative health and other outcomes associated with being food insecure. This chapter first defines the measure used to delineate whether a household is food insecure. The measure, the Core Food Security Module (CFSM), is based on 18 questions about a household’s food situation. From the responses, a household is defined as food secure, low food secure, or very low food secure, with the latter two categories defined as “food insecure.” I next discuss the extent of food insecurity in the United States across various dimensions, the key determinants of food insecurity, and the multiple negative consequences associated with food insecurity. Two of the key policy tools used to address food insecurity are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) and the National School Lunch Program. A brief overview and definition of the eligibility criteria for each program is provided along with a discussion of their respective impacts on food insecurity. This chapter concludes with four major current challenges pertaining to food insecurity and food assistance programs.

Food Assistance

Getting By ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 243-328
Author(s):  
Helen Hershkoff ◽  
Stephen Loffredo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
School Lunch ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Food Assistance Programs ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

This chapter focuses on food assistance as a specific type of noncash benefit for poor and low-income persons. In 2006, the United States substituted the term “food insecurity” for hunger, but by any measure the United States has too many people—even those working full-time—without enough money to purchase groceries. The chapter describes the major federal programs that provide food assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as food stamps); the WIC program, for pregnant women, new mothers, and infant children; the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs; and senior nutrition programs. These programs use different models to provide assistance: SNAP is designed to increase the purchasing power of a poor or low-income recipients; WIC targets a discrete group with special nutritional needs, and combines food support with health and nutritional counseling; School Lunch and Congregate Meals provide meals in group settings to students and to seniors, combining food with social activity. The emphasis throughout is on eligibility, benefits, and the relation of food assistance to other cash-assistance programs and to wage labor. The food-assistance programs discussed in the chapter are vital to health and development, and also boost local economies and support the agricultural sector. But they do not go far enough in reducing hunger, and they arbitrarily restrict benefits to some of the poorest people in the country.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Household Perceptions of Water Costs across the United States: A Survey Based Approach

Water ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 247
Author(s):  
Laura Medwid ◽  
Elizabeth A. Mack
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Water Issues

Research analyzing perceptions of water services has focused on water quality, water safety, and the propensity to consume water from different sources. It has not assessed perceptions of water costs. To address this knowledge gap, this study collected nationally representative survey data from households in the United States about water issues and incorporated these data into logistic regression models. In doing so, our study advances the water and public policy literature in three ways. One, it addresses the need for household resolution information about water issues given the absence of data at this scale in the United States. Two, it creates and utilizes one-of-a-kind survey data to understand the perceptions of household water bills and the drivers of these perceptions. Three, we assess the impact of proposed solutions to improve water affordability on household perceptions of water costs. Model results indicate low-income and households in underrepresented groups were more likely to perceive their water bills to be too high. The perception of water costs also varied geographically. From a policy perspective, model results indicate utilities can positively affect perceptions of water bills via the frequency of water billing and provision of payment assistance programs.

scholarly journals Gardening for change: Community giving gardens and senior food insecurity

2021 ◽  
pp. 85-101
Author(s):  
Kathleen Tims ◽  
Mark Haggerty ◽  
John Jemison ◽  
Melissa Ladenheim ◽  
Sarah Mullis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Food Access ◽  
Local Food ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Food Assistance Programs ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Fresh Food ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
The Impact

An estimated 5.3 million seniors in the United States are currently food insecure (Ziliak & Gunderson, 2020). Over the next few decades, these senior populations are projected to increase dramatically, which will only exacerbate this issue (Mather & Kilduff, 2020). Community giving gardens are an emerging strategy to increase food access and offer a solution to fight food insecurity locally (Chicago Community Gardeners Associa­tion, 2014; Furness & Gallaher 2018; Sutphen, 2018). This research seeks to answer questions related to rural, senior food insecurity through a case study of a long-term community giving garden project in Orono, Maine. Based on survey data and personal interviews, this study analyzes senior participation in the Orono Community Garden (OCG) program, the impact on participants’ food security status, and senior participants’ perceptions of the experience. The results indicate that the OCG program functioned to increase food access by providing fresh food deliveries directly to senior households in need, alongside a constellation of local food assistance programs located in Orono. Participants also viewed the OCG program as a source of destigmatized and socially acceptable food access, in contrast to other food assistance programs. Community giving gardens, like the OCG program, can be an effective tool to combat senior food insecurity by providing nutritionally adequate, destigmatized food access while building local food economies.

Health Impacts of Food Assistance: Evidence from the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne P. Bitler ◽  
Arian Seifoddini
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Food Assistance Programs ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Short Run

This review focuses on the health and nutrition impacts of food assistance programs. We focus particular attention on the United States, both because of the plethora of types of programs and associated variation and because spending on these programs is a large share of the nonmedical safety net there. We begin by reviewing the theoretical predictions concerning health and nutrition effects of these programs, also paying attention to potential mediators such as education and income. We then discuss program eligibility and size, both as caseload and in terms of spending. We next touch on identifying causal variation and opportunities for further research. The review concludes by discussing the existing literature in five broad areas: take-up and use of the programs; effects on nutrition and food consumption; other immediate effects on short-run health; impacts on other contemporaneous outcomes such as income and labor supply; and longer-run health and nutrition effects.

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