Among children, differences were found for fruit consumption but not vegetable. Urban children were offered and consumed a greater variety of F&V. Mothers' F&V intake was related to age, pregnancy status, and breastfeeding status.
Among 41 participants, multiple perceived barriers emerged, such as negative interactions in stores or confusion over WIC rules. Among experienced shoppers, WIC strategies also emerged to deal with barriers and maximize CVV value, including strategic choice of times and locations at which to shop and use of price-matching, rewards points, and other ways to increase purchasing power.
About 12% of WIC families fully redeemed their benefits in March, 2012. Compared with non- Arab/non-Hispanic families, Arab American WIC families were significantly more likely to use all of their monthly WIC benefits, even after controlling for family characteristics.
In summary, we found that BMI and diet quality changes of Head Start preschool girls were correlated with short-term changes in household food insecurity.
The current findings suggest that households with very low food security tend to shop more frequently in stores that have less-healthful options, such as convenience/dollar stores.
Including military members’ Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) as income when determining eligibility for SNAP is not only inconsistent with the treatment of BAH by other federal programs, it has made thousands of struggling families ineligible for vital SNAP benefits. In order to survive, they are turning to food pantries on and off military bases. The BAH is excluded as income for the purposes of calculating income taxes and eligibility for Women, Infants and Children and Head Start programs. The BAH should be consistently excluded as income for the purposes of determining eligibility for all nutrition assistance programs.
Increased concern about future overweight and controlling feeding styles represent potential mechanisms by which food insecurity could be related to obesity. Obesity prevention should aim to decrease food insecurity and to reduce controlling feeding styles in families who remain food insecure.
Recent paternal incarceration, defined as incarceration in the past 2 years, is associated with an increased likelihood of food insecurity among 5-year-old children, but only among children living with their biological fathers prior to his incarceration. These associations cannot be explained by the mechanisms considered, including post-incarceration changes in economic well-being, parental relationships, maternal parenting, and maternal health.
A review of the current literature revealed that an adverse association between food insecurity and dietary patterns is well supported. The association between food insecurity and obesity is strongest for women, with results for men and children being mixed.
In the Mid-Ohio Valley Region of West Virginia, food insecure women in the West Virginia WIC program had a greater risk of depression, higher food pantry use, lower rates of reliable transportation to obtain food, and lower use of extra methods to obtain food such as hunting and fishing in comparison to their food secure counterparts in the WIC program. Women who did not participate in the West Virginia WIC FMNP program had lower produce intake related behaviors, including perceived control, enabling domain, and self-efficacy than those that did.