scholarly journals Three essays on food insecurity, nutritional outcomes, and supplemental nutrition assistance program participation among seniors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ashley E. Price
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Nutritional Outcomes

As the senior population in the United States grows to be a more significant portion of the American populous, social scientists, public health advocates, policy makers, and health care professor must grapple with how to address the strain senior will place on health systems and social services. Nutrition is a critical component of maintaining good health, managing chronic diseases, and prevention, thus, we must learn more about the senior experiences with nutrition and social programs which address nutrition inadequacy. To contribute to this literature this dissertation uses nationally representative survey data and econometric analysis to understand seniors and nutrition. The first essay focuses on understanding what contributes to seniors' participation Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The second essay looks at the role food security and functional limitations play in seniors' nutritional outcomes. The third chapter explores what drives the higher food insecurity rates among senior women relative to senior men. All three essays highlight potential barriers for seniors having quality nutrition.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Adequacy of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefit Levels: Impacts on Food Insecurity

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Gundersen ◽  
Elaine Waxman ◽  
Amy S. Crumbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
The Cost

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves as the primary tool to alleviate food insecurity in the United States. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in numerous studies, but the majority of SNAP recipients are still food insecure. One factor behind this is the difference in food prices across the country—SNAP benefits are not adjusted to reflect these differences. Using information from Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap (MMG) project, we compare the cost of a meal by county based on the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP)—which is used to set the maximum SNAP benefit—with the cost of the average meal for low-income food-secure households. We find that the cost of the latter meal is higher than the TFP meal for over 99 percent of the counties. We next consider the reduction in food insecurity if, by county, the maximum SNAP benefit level was set to the cost of the average meal for low-income food-secure households. We find that if this approach were implemented, there would be a decline of 50.9 percent in food insecurity among SNAP recipients at a cost of $23 billion.

scholarly journals Examining Rural Food-Insecure Families’ Perceptions of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: A Qualitative Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6390
Author(s):  
Lindsey Haynes-Maslow ◽  
Annie Hardison-Moody ◽  
Megan Patton-Lopez ◽  
T. Elaine Prewitt ◽  
Carmen Byker Shanks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Funding Formulas ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a critical program that helps reduce the risk of food insecurity, yet little is known about how SNAP addresses the needs of rural, food-insecure residents in the United States (U.S.). This study examines how rural, food-insecure residents perceive SNAP. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 153 individuals living in six diverse rural regions of Arkansas, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia. SNAP was described as a crucial stop-gap program, keeping families from experiencing persistent food insecurity, making food dollars stretch when the family budget is tight, and helping them purchase healthier foods. For many rural residents interviewed, SNAP was viewed in a largely positive light. In efforts to continue improving SNAP, particularly in light of its relevance during and post-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, policymakers must be aware of rural families’ perceptions of SNAP. Specific improvements may include increased transparency regarding funding formulas, budgeting and nutrition education for recipients, effective training to improve customer service, connections among social service agencies within a community, and increased availability of automation to streamline application processes.

scholarly journals Effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education (SNAP-Ed) on food security and dietary outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 903-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L Rivera ◽  
Melissa K Maulding ◽  
Heather A Eicher-Miller
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Study Designs

AbstractThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education (SNAP-Ed) is the nutrition promotion component of SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. SNAP-Ed assists low-income populations in the United States improve dietary intake and reduce food insecurity through nutrition education. This narrative review summarizes current investigations of SNAP-Ed’s effectiveness at improving food security and dietary outcomes, and it can help inform future policy and implementation of the program. There was stronger evidence for SNAP-Ed as an effective means of improving food security (n = 4 reports) than for its effects on nutrition or dietary outcomes (n = 10 reports). Inconsistency in measurement tools and outcomes and a lack of strong study designs characterized the studies that sought to evaluate the effectiveness of SNAP-Ed at improving nutrition or dietary outcomes. Additional rigorous study designs in diverse population groups are needed to strengthen the evidence. In the face of reduced financial SNAP benefits, SNAP-Ed may play an important role in helping to eliminate food insecurity and improve dietary outcomes and, ultimately, the health of low-income Americans.

scholarly journals Does Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity among Households with Children? Evidence from the Current Population Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3178
Author(s):  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Yanghao Wang ◽  
Steven T. Yen
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Current Population Survey ◽  
Population Survey ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Current Population ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to improve household diet and food security—a pressing problem confronting low-income families in the United States. Previous studies on the issue often ignored the methodological issue of endogenous program participation. We revisit this important issue by estimating a simultaneous equation system with ordinal household food insecurity. Data are drawn from the 2009–2011 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS), restricted to SNAP-eligible households with children. Our results add to the stocks of empirical findings that SNAP participation ameliorates food insecurity among adults only, but increases the probabilities of low and very low food security among children. These contradictory results indicate that our selection approach with a single cross section is only partially successful, and that additional efforts are needed in further analyses of this complicated issue, perhaps with longitudinal data. Socio-demographic variables are found to affect food-secure households and food-insecure households differently, but affect SNAP nonparticipants and participants in the same direction. The state policy tools, such as broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) and simplified reporting, can encourage SNAP participation and thus ameliorate food insecurity. Our findings can inform policy deliberations.

scholarly journals Perspective: The Convergence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Food Insecurity in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M Nagata ◽  
Hilary K Seligman ◽  
Sheri D Weiser
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Supplemental Nutrition ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
United States Food ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

ABSTRACT During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, food insecurity has doubled overall and tripled among households with children in the United States. Food insecurity and COVID-19 may exacerbate one another through bidirectional links, leading to a syndemic, or sequential disease clusters, which exacerbate one another. Experiencing food insecurity may be associated with macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies, which can weaken host defenses, thus increasing susceptibility to COVID-19. Food insecurity is associated with chronic medical conditions, which may afford a higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness. People experiencing food insecurity may have increased exposure to COVID-19 while procuring food. People with COVID-19 may be unable to work, generate income, and procure food while quarantined, which may exacerbate food insecurity. Clinicians should screen for food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide referrals to food-assistance programs when appropriate. Policymakers should expand benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to address increases in the depth and breadth of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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