Food security status of households with children in Head Start - Head Start Programs

Nutrition Research Newsletter, March, 2004

Food insecurity implies a limited access to or availability of food, or a limited or uncertain ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways. In 2001, 10.7% of households in the United States were food insecure at some time during the year. Some characteristics of households prone to being food insecure include having an income below the poverty line, being headed by a single woman with children, and living in rural areas. The Appalachian region has a large rural population and shows high rates of poverty and unemployment, which may indicate that individuals in that region are at risk for experiencing food insecurity.

Head Start (HS) provides a comprehensive child development program for preschool children from families with low incomes. Families participating in HS are prone to experiencing food insecurity and hunger, due to their demographic characteristics. To gain more information in this area, a recent study measured the level of food security and hunger of households involved in HS in a non-metropolitan county, and assessed factors that could affect food security and hunger.

A convenience sample of households with children enrolled in the HS program in Athens Country, Ohio, were sampled (n=710), with adults from 297 households responding. All adults filled out a 55-item questionnaire that included the 18-question US Household Food Security Survey Module for measuring hunger and food insecurity.

One hundred and fifty-two households (51.2%) were food secure and 145 (48.8%) were food insecure. Ninety households (30.3%) had experienced hunger in the previous 12 months and 41 (13.8%) were classified as food insecure with childhood hunger. These rates of food insecurity are three times the national average for households with children. Hunger was related to a variety of household characteristics and associated with several factors, including preparation in food banks, dependence on family members and friends outside of the household for food, lacking reliable transportation and not having a garden. In addition, participation in a greater number of food assistance programs was associated with poorer food security status. Understanding some of the characteristics seen in the study that make families prone to food insecurity will help dietetics professionals to be more effective. Dietetics and nutrition professionals can also play leadership roles in addressing food insecurity in their communities--in collaboration with community-based agencies and organizations, and in food security research related to emergency feeding programs, gardening programs/community gardening development and outcomes.

The results of this study find that the sample of Appalachian Ohio households with children enrolled in HS experienced a higher degree of food insecurity than what is typical for a state or region. Although the sample is not representative of households in the region or those enrolled nationally in HS, these findings suggest that rural households with children enrolled in HS may experience food insecurity and hunger at dramatically greater rates than the national averages. However, further research is needed and would be helpful to verify these trends in a representative sample.

David H. Holben, Megan C. McClincy, John P Holcomb, et al. Food security status of households in Appalachian Ohio with children in Head Start. JADA 104(2):238-241 (February 2004) [Address correspondence to: David H. Holben, PhD, RD, Ohio University, School of Human and Consumer Sciences, Grover Center W324, Athens, OH 45701. E-mail: holben@ohio.edu]