Educators' reports of food acquisition practices used by limited-resource individuals to maintain food sufficiency

Family Economics and Nutrition Review, Spring, 2002 by Kathryn M. Kempson, Debra Palmer Keenan, Puneeta Sonya Sadani, Sylvia Ridlen, Nancy Scotto Rosato

Sometimes road-kill was sought. EFNEP/FSNEP educators told of some limited-resource clients who sought road-kill and then took it home as a source of meat. When road-kill could not be found, it was created.

   "... just run the animals over
   with the car and pick them up
   and put them on the hood of
   the car and take them home."

Hunting, fishing, and seeking road-kill, as described, all posed potential food safety risks.

Finally, the educators shared stories of people traveling to multiple pantries and soup kitchens to obtain the food they needed. In many cases, this violated the regulations of the food pantries.

Relocate to increase income and decrease expenses. Relocation was used to increase income with which to purchase food. According to the EFNEP/FSNEP educators, some of their limited-resource clients moved to suburbs or into cities to be closer to public assistance programs and public transportation. In other cases, individuals or families transferred to less populated areas, where employment was more readily available.

Finding inexpensive housing was a practical way to decrease expenses, which also left more money for food. Living in facilities with common food storage areas helped to defray living expenses.

   "You had a lot of rooming
   houses, and there would be
   three or four people in one
   room. And that would be a way
   of getting food, too. Because
   if you did have three or four
   people in one room ... everybody
   was sharing [his or
   her] food from the food banks,
   so it would last a little longer."

Residents of facilities (e.g., some shelters, transitional housing, YMCA's, and rooming houses) with shared food storage areas frequently stole from each other, putting individuals at risk nutritionally from a lack of sufficient food. One educator spoke about a personal experience: "... leave a can of food in your room and the next thing you know, it [would] be gone [because of theft]." Residence in abandoned buildings, although illegal and physically unsafe, was also reported.

Use programs to increase income and decrease expenses. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, General Assistance, and Social Security Income (SSI), according to EFNEP/FSNEP educators, were used by their limited-resource clients to increase financial resources and reduce potential food insufficiency. Also, obtaining subsidized housing and participating in the Self-Help and Resource Exchange (SHARE) Program were means used to decrease expenses. Volunteer work is a required aspect of this program, but the educators reported that this did not often happen. Whether increasing income or decreasing expenses, these practices served as means through which food sufficiency could be maintained.

Lower Food Costs by Using Shopping Strategies

According to the EFNEP/FSNEP educators, their limited-resource clients used three major food acquisition practices to maintain food sufficiency. Most of these practices were legal, but a few posed food safety or regulatory risks (table 4).