Posts Tagged: Food insecurity
Study: Government shutdown stressed food assistance program participants
A U.S. federal government shutdown can represent a minor inconvenience, a delay in paychecks, or – for people living in some of the most difficult circumstances – an extended period of hunger and anxiety.
A study published recently in the journal Nutrients provides a unique glimpse into the shutdown experiences of participants in CalFresh – California's name for the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). Currently, about 42 million people participate in SNAP across the U.S.
In focus groups conducted in 2019 with 26 low-income CalFresh participants from four diverse California counties, participants shared how the 2018-19 federal government shutdown affected their SNAP benefits, their perception of the program and their faith in government.
One of the immediate effects of the 2018-19 shutdown was that February CalFresh benefits were distributed in January. And while that meant program participants saw extra benefits that month, they then had to wait 40 to 44 days until the March issuance – much longer than the usual 28 to 31 day cycle.
“What we saw with this study is that this extended lag in benefit receipt from January to March was devastating,” said Wendi Gosliner, senior researcher and policy advisor at the Nutrition Policy Institute of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and an author of the study funded by UC ANR.
She recalled one participant who, despite having a gastrointestinal issue that requires a special diet, had to eat canned food from the food bank that made her sick – rather than go hungry while waiting for her March benefits. Others described cascading financial challenges after using rent money for food in February, or going into debt to pay for food and getting behind on other expenses.
The study also chronicles the experiences of a woman who was anguished to hear the suffering of her daughter, also a CalFresh participant: “She called me several times crying, ‘Ma, I don't – we don't have enough food. What am I going to do…? You know, I can't afford to this and this and this.' And I can't help her.”
For individuals grappling with food insecurity, the stress of feeding their families was compounded by the uncertainties of the government shutdown. And while many participants exercised their agency and resourcefulness in coping with the situation, they also felt a degree of powerlessness amid the “confusion and craziness,” as one person put it.
“No one knew how long that shutdown was going to last; no one knew if the March benefits were going to be paid,” Gosliner said. “And as we learned, there were all kinds of stories circulating out there about what was going on with the uncertainty – a lot of people didn't have the information about what was actually happening.”
Some participants, seeing the “double benefit” in January 2019, thought that it was the last-ever distribution and that SNAP was ending. Others described being unable to get in touch with the CalFresh agency to get their questions answered about the benefits. Most participants had not heard about the disrupted benefit schedule before receiving the benefits. As a result, many people in the focus groups shared that their overall faith in government had been shaken.
Improving customer service, boosting benefit levels and adjusting eligibility and benefit formulas to reflect high cost-of-living and expenses related to working were three recommendations that came from the focus group participants.
A fourth recommendation tackles the shutdown issue head-on: Don't let it happen again.
“Congress should do absolutely everything in their power to be sure that the program operates on the usual time schedule – even if the government is shut down,” Gosliner said.
In the context of the global pandemic, when financial and social inequities and physical and mental health disparities have been laid bare, ensuring access to healthful food is even more important. And with studies showing that hospitalizations increase with longer lags between SNAP distributions, Gosliner said the “absolute last thing” the overburdened health system needs is more people in emergency departments seeking acute care.
“It's the worst time to be having people who need money to feed their families face additional insecurity,” she said. “It's critically important that Congress acts to be sure that there is not any disruption in benefits.”
The authors of the study, “Participants' Experiences of the 2018–2019 Government Shutdown and Subsequent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefit Disruption Can Inform Future Policy,” are Wendi Gosliner, Wei-Ting Chen, Cathryn Johnson, Elsa Michelle Esparza, Natalie Price, Ken Hecht and Lorrene Ritchie.
The study can be found online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7353319.
Food insecurity and childhood obesity: Is there a connection?
A well-nourished population requires that all members of society have access to sufficient amounts of nutritious food. Unfortunately, food insecurity continues to be a staggering problem throughout the world with negative consequences in terms of health and well-being.
In the United States, millions of households, an estimated 1 in 8 Americans, lack access to enough food. Children growing up in food insecure households face many challenges, such as behavioral problems, lower academic achievement, disrupted social interactions and poor health. The prevailing belief is that children living in a food insecure environment are at greater risk of undernutrition, not obesity. Although this may be true in some cases, food insecurity and childhood obesity also coexist.
Because childhood food insecurity may increase obesity risk later in life, it is important to better understand the relationship between food insecurity and children's obesity, and how it varies by demographic characteristics in the United States.
A recent study published in the September 2019 issue of The Journal of Nutrition assessed the relationship between household food insecurity and child adiposity-related outcomes. This included variables such as body mass index, waist circumference and diet outcomes. The study, conducted by Lauren Au, a researcher at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Nutrition Policy Institute, and colleagues examined associations by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Data collected in 2013-2015 from 5,138 U.S. schoolchildren ages 4-15 years old from 130 communities in the cross-sectional Healthy Communities Study were analyzed.
Household food insecurity was self-reported using a two-item screening instrument and dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Information on dietary behaviors, physical activity and demographics was collected. To assess adiposity, children's weight, height and waist circumference were measured.
Study results support an association between food-insecure households and measures of adiposity. Children from food-insecure households had high body mass index, waist circumference, greater odds of being classified as overweight or obese, consumed more sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages, and less frequently ate breakfast and dinner with family compared to children from food-secure households. When examined by age groups, significant relationships were observed only for older children, however, results did not differ according to sex or race/ethnicity.
These results suggest that household food insecurity is associated with higher child adiposity-related outcomes and several nutrition behaviors, particularly among older children. Clearly, further research is needed to better understand the complexities of food insecurity, childhood obesity, and future health outcomes.
Read the full open access article.
This research was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
SNAP-Ed: un factor de cambio en la vida
El pasado mes de enero, más de 600 profesionales en educación del Programa de Asistencia Suplementaria de Nutrición y Educación (SNAP-Ed, por sus siglas en inglés) de todo California se reunieron en Sacramento en un foro de SNAP-Ed Local de las agencias encargadas de implementar el programa. Esta reunión anual de dos días celebra el trabajo de SNAP-Ed, ofrece una plataforma para compartir las lecciones aprendidas y provee oportunidades de entrenamiento. El tema del 2018 fue: “Creando poder mediante historias de cambio”.
Durante una de las sesiones plenarias, denominada Historias de cambio: voces de la comunidad, escuchamos directamente de los participantes sobre sus batallas para lograr una buena salud en situaciones difíciles – donde el tiempo y el dinero son limitados. Fue cautivador escuchar las historias de los participantes de SNAP-Ed sobre experiencias que cambian la vida en torno a la salud y estado físico. Sin embargo, una cosa quedó muy clara – todo empezó con los primeros pasos: decidirse a cambiar, entrar a la clase de SNAP-Ed y crear un vínculo con un educador convincente. Estos pasos muchas veces invisibles se necesitan para un cambio duradero. Las historias solidificaron la importancia e impacto de SNAP-Ed en la comunidad.
El foro SNAP-Ed LIA también fue el escaparate para mostrar el trabajo del condado a través de una sesión de carteles. Durante este tiempo, escuchamos a los educadores y administradores del Programa de Educación sobre Nutrición CalFresh de UC hablar sobre su trabajo junto con sus colegas de SNAP-Ed. El nivel de compromiso y colaboración que ocurre todos los días a lo largo del estado es cautivante.
He aquí solo unas cuantas historias sobre UC CalFresh:
Creando bolsas de alimentos para la comunidad
En el condado de Stanislaus, un 4 por ciento de las familias de recursos limitados sufren de inseguridad alimentaria. Organizaciones como United Way, Nutrición y Educación de UC CalFresh, Banco de Alimentos Second Harvest y las primarias Caswell y Bret Hart trabajan juntas para identificar formas de incrementar el acceso y consumo de los estudiantes de primaria y sus familias de alimentos y bebidas saludables.
Ellos crearon el programa CHEF; siglas que en inglés significan Cooking (Cocinar), Healthy Eating (Alimentación Saludable) y Food (Alimentos). Los participantes ayudan en la preparación de comidas durante las clases de educación sobre nutrición. Al final de la serie de cuatro a seis semanas, se llevan a casa los ingredientes para preparar la receta para sus familias. Las clases enseñan a las familias sobre MiPlato y cómo hacer elecciones saludables a largo plazo mediante la lectura de las etiquetas de los alimentos, el control de las porciones y el uso de un presupuesto para sus compras.
CHEF también provee, dos veces al mes, bolsas de 18 libras de alimentos a más de 340 niños pertenecientes a dos programas de después de clases. Desde el 2016 a la fecha, un total de 197 adultos han participado en las clases de educación sobre nutrición. Se han repartido más de 200 mil libras de alimentos saludables a familias del condado de Stanislaus.
Intensificar
En el condado de Tuolumne, Extensión Cooperativa de UC de la región Central Sierra, ayudó en la iniciación de la campaña "Tuolumne County: Step It Up" (Condado de Tuolumne: apresura el paso) en todo el distrito escolar. Una tercera parte de la población en el condado de Tuolumne presenta sobrepeso u obesidad. El personal de UCCE pensó en cómo ayudar a reducir estas estadísticas y aportó un modelo con una forma sencilla de lograr un estilo de vida más saludable.
La actividad física es un importante aspecto de la salud infantil. Entre sus beneficios se incluyen:
- Mejoraras a la salud del corazón
- Incremento de la fuerza muscular y salud ósea
- Mejoras en el control del peso
- Reducción en el riesgo de sufrir muchas enfermedades crónicas
- Efecto positivo en la salud mental
- Inclinación por continuar un estilo de vida hasta la adultez
- Mejores resultados educativos
UC CalFresh, las escuelas del condado de Tuolumne, Salud Pública del Condado y el Banco de Alimentos ATCAA local invitaron al personal escolar a formar equipos en sus respectivas escuelas para participar en una competencia de seis semanas, registrando sus pasos sobre la marcha. La competencia se llevó a cabo del 6 de abril al 17 de mayo del 2017, el Día Nacional para Caminar. La información se capturó a través de hojas de Excel en línea y fue enviada por correo electrónico semanalmente por el capitán designado de cada equipo.
La competencia Step It Up obtuvo un apoyo significativo de la comunidad. Los negocios locales donaron premios para el personal ganador los cuales fueron presentados durante asambleas escolares acompañados por certificados para cada participante. Los estudiantes contribuyeron al conteo de pasos durante recesos para caminar, lecciones ambulantes de “caminar y caminar” o caminatas matutinas de la escuela completa.
Con cinco equipos participantes y más de 180 participantes, los caminantes caminaron colectivamente 25,081 millas. La escuela ganadora fue reconocida por la junta de su distrito escolar y ha adoptado una política para dedicar tiempo todos los miércoles a caminar todos como escuela.
SNAP-Ed: ¡Un factor de cambio en la vida!
Como miembros de la comunidad, los educadores y personal de UCCE encabezan el camino a crear recursos que establecen estilos de vida saludables donde viven y sirven. En definitiva, su trabajo diario está creando la capacidad para que instituciones y líderes locales hagan una diferencia duradera. Nos quitamos el sombrero ante ustedes, sus aliados y miembros de la comunidad – sus esfuerzos hacen que SNAP-Ed sea un ¡factor de cambio en la vida!
Autora: Andra Nicoli, oficina estatal de UC CalFresh, con contribuciones del condado por parte de Jaci Westbrook, Gretchen Birtwhistle y Wylie Skillman