Screening for Food Insecurity

What is the best way to screen for food insecurity? The 18-item U.S. Food Security Scale (USFSS) is the gold standard, according to a recent editorial in the American Journal of Public Health. The tool was developed after five years of extensive testing, consultation, and expert review.  Its length, however, makes its use in most clinical settings impractical.

The first two questions in the USFSS, commonly known as the Hunger Vital Sign, ask how often within the past 12 months “we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more,” and “the food we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Recent research has shown the Hunger Vital Sign to be both a sensitive and specific tool, and thus reliable is ascertaining whether a patient is food insecure, but only if the screener asks both questions and gives the patient 3 response options: “often true, sometimes true, or never true.”

Source: Children’s Health Watch, 11/2/17, Food Insecurity Screening

Access To Grocery Stores Affects Food Shopping & Spending

Researchers believe that poor access to stores that sell a wide range of healthy and affordable foods results in poorer diet and diet-related health problems. Six percent (6%) of American households lack of access to supermarkets, which may mean that they rely more heavily on convenience stores or fast-food restaurants. A new USDA survey of how the local food environment influences where households get food and how much of their food budget is spent at various types of retailers reveals:

●    77% low-access households shopped at supermarket, superstore, large grocery store, or warehouse store compared to 87% percent for households with sufficient access.
●    Low-access households spend almost the same percentage of their weekly food expenditures at large stores as households with sufficient access.
●    Low-access households are less likely to buy food at a restaurant than households with sufficient access (69.5% compared with 85.8%) and spend less than half as much per person as households with sufficient access ($9.90 compared to $19.56).

Source: USDA, 10/17, Grocery Store Access

Food Insecurity Tied To Chronic Disease

USDA researchers recently used health, demographic, and food security information to look closely at the relationship between 10 chronic diseases in low-income working-age adults and the food security status of their households. They made two striking findings. First, they found differences in adult health across four levels of food security ranging from high to very low food security.

This finding is important because it suggests that food security status tracks closely with health. For example, the predicted probability of hypertension for low-income working-age adults living in a household experiencing very low food security was 10.5 percentage points higher than for those in high food-secure households, while in low-income households with marginal and low food-security, the predicted probability of hypertension was 3.5 and 5.4 percentage points, respectively, higher than in high food-secure households.  Second, researchers found similar differences for all of the health conditions they examined—hypertension, coronary heart disease, hepatitis, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. In all cases, the likelihood of having the particular health condition increased as household food security worsened.

Source: USDA, 10/2/17, Food Insecurity & Chronic Disease

Increases in Energy Prices Raise Risk of Food Insecurity

Unexpected increases in energy prices can adversely affect food security, USDA reports. For poor families, rising energy prices create a difficult tradeoff between buying enough food, staying warm, or having enough gas for the car. Energy price shocks may be particularly detrimental to low-income households because they have fewer resources available to absorb an unplanned higher expense. A recent USDA study explored the relationship between energy price shocks and food security and found that price shocks in each energy source—gasoline, natural gas, and electricity—increased the probability of a household becoming more food insecure or food stressed. The magnitude of the response was higher for low-income households compared to the average response for all households. A 41% increase in natural gas prices, for example, led to the prevalence of food insecurity among low-income households rising from 12.4 to 14.7%.

Source: USDA, 7/13/17, Energy Shocks and Food Insecurity

Asnuntuck Community College Provides Student Nourishment

Since its opening in February, The Pantry at Asnuntuck Community College has expanded to 166 enrolled recipients and 27 student volunteers. ACC Women’s Leadership Institute graduate Tracy Ouelette, ACC alumna Jordanna Fallon, and Student Activities Director Sherry Paquette founded the pantry after noticing a need among the student body. The Pantry is open Monday-Saturday and provides each student with up to 40 food items per month. It is located in the cashier hallway, and participants need to show a current student ID to be eligible.

Pictured (L-R): Sherry Paquette (ACC), Bea Maslowski (Foodshare), Elizabeth D'Alessandro, & Kathleen Souvigney (Enfield Food Shelf)

The Pantry is sponsored by the ACC Student Government Association, Foodshare, Enfield Food Shelf, ShopRite, Johnson Brunetti Financial Services, and G. Donovan Associates. Sherry Paquette, Tracy Ouelette, and Enfield Food Shelf Executive Director Kathleen Souvigney are all members of Foodshare’s Enfield Hunger Action Team (HAT), which collaborates on efforts to end food insecurity.  To learn more about the Enfield HAT, you can contact our Community Network Builder, Beatrice Maslowski. 

How Food Insecurity Impacts Seniors

Because of limited financial resources, food-insecure adults often need to stretch constrained budgets. The strategies they use--forgoing medical care; purchasing low-cost, nutrient-poor foods; and making trade-offs between food and other basic necessities, such as medication--can harm their health. Older adults experiencing food insecurity have lower overall dietary quality than their food-secure counterparts. They consume fewer calories, less protein, and fewer essential vitamins and minerals when compared to their food-secure peers.

Research shows that older adults who are food insecure are more likely to experience diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, gum disease, and limitations on activities of daily living, among other negative health outcomes. Additionally, compared to their food-secure counterparts, older adults struggling against food insecurity are at higher risk of depression.

Often, food-insecure older adults have more doctor’s office visits and emergency room visits, and more frequent hospitalizations.


Source: Food Research & Action Council, 5/19/17, Senior Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity and Women's Health

"Data consistently show that women are especially vulnerable to food insecurity and its health consequences. Literature reviews reveal strong and consistent evidence of a higher risk of obesity among food-insecure women, but not for food-insecure men or children.

 Another serious risk facing many women is maternal depression, which can increase the incidence — or be a consequence — of food insecurity. Food insecurity during pregnancy has been linked with gestational diabetes, iron deficiency, and low birth weight.  But, according to recent studies, mothers of young children in food-insecure households who received SNAP were less likely to experience symptoms of maternal depression and less likely to be in poor health, compared to mothers in food-insecure households not receiving SNAP"

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 5/19/17, Food Insecurity & Women's Health

Struggle Worsens for Food Insecure Americans

"The number of Americans who are eating poor-quality food or skipping meals dropped slightly in 2015, new research shows — but for those who aren’t always sure where their next meal is coming from, the struggle to pay for food is actually worsening, a hunger advocacy group says.

Ironically, the group says in a new report, many of these families actually now earn too much to qualify for federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known widely as food stamps, and free and reduced-priced school lunch programs."

Feeding America, a Chicago based non-profit, states the following on this issue: "The gap between how much these folks earn and what they need to survive — the so-called “food budget shortfall.”

Source: USA Today, 5/4/17, Read More...

Military Service Members Struggle To Feed Their Families

In July 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the Department of Defense (DOD) was not fully collecting or analyzing data on how many service members were in need of food assistance or enrolled in federal programs such as SNAP and WIC. The GAO ALSO found troubling signs that some military families were in need. For example, nearly 1 in 4 children at DOD schools are eligible for free meals, and about 23,000 active-duty service members rely on SNAP benefits. That number tends to draw from a particular slice of the military: lower-ranking enlisted members with children.

An enlisted service member, for example, starts out earning $1,449 per month. In a family with three children, that salary could make them eligible to receive SNAP benefits. The Pentagon said it agreed with the GAO recommendations – but nearly a year later, it hasn't changed how it tracks the issue. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on whether specific offices cited in the GAO report have made specific changes or had changes underway in response to the report. But he added, "They have read it and they are certainly taking those recommendations into consideration."

Source: NPR, 4/19/17, Feeding Military Families

Food Deserts Disappearing Thanks to New Retail Outlets

"Even as Sears, Macy’s, and other traditional chains close stores – perhaps 3,500 this year in what some are calling a “retail apocalypse" – grocery chains are opening new outlets. And the fastest growth is happening, not in wealthy suburbia, but in low-income neighborhoods where access to fresh food is often limited. From Kansas City, Mo., to Philadelphia, Chicago to Birmingham, Ala., partnerships of risk-taking entrepreneurs and public officials are quietly solving the nation’s “food desert” problem.

In 2010, there were 8,959 food deserts – low-income census tracts where a significant portion of the population was more than a mile from a large grocery store or supermarket (or more than 10 miles in rural areas). By 2015, there were 9,245 low-income, low-access census tracts, a 3 percent increase, according to the US Department of Agriculture."

Source: The Christian Science Monitor, 4/11/17, Read More >

What Many Americans Don't Know About SNAP

SNAP, is one of America’s most important welfare programs. It is also frequently misunderstood by both lawmakers and citizens who believe it’s rife with fraud; it’s abused by immigrants; it’s typically used to buy junk food. But many economists believe that SNAP is singularly effective.

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, one such economist--Craig Gunderson, who has worked in the field for 20 years--refuted most of these myths:

• Most SNAP recipients are children, and most of those who are not young, elderly, or disabled, work.
• SNAP participants do use their benefits to purchase soda and junk food, but one reason they may do so is that people tend to spend their SNAP dollars at the start of the month, so they buy things that are nonperishable--say bottles of soda. Then for the rest of the month they spend their cash on perishables like milk, fruits, and vegetables.
• Selling SNAP EBT cards is an urban myth. When food stamps were paper coupons, a lot of people used to sell them. But with EBT, you can’t just sell the card--you’d also have to give the buyer your PIN number and trust they would bring the card back to you.
• Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for SNAP benefits. However their children, if they are legal U.S. residents, have as much right to these benefits as anyone else.

Source: Washington Post, 4/4/17, Don't Know Much About Food Stamps

Celebrating Global Youth Service Days

1 in 8 Connecticut residents are food insecure.

Our volunteers help provide over 11.5 million meals to these hungry neighbors, and connect these same individuals and families with long-term support building a stronger community for us all.

In collaboration with Youth Service America (YSA), and in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Foodshare is celebrating the impact made by young volunteers in our community.

Take action alongside millions of other youth around the world April 21-23, during YSA’s Global Youth Service Days. Foodshare offers many volunteer opportunities, including Mobile Foodshare, Retail Pick-Up, e-Advocacy, and SNAP Outreach.

Watch the video for more information on #GYSD. 

Food Insecurity And Health

Consistent evidence demonstrates a higher risk of obesity among food-insecure women. There are a number of reasons why food-insecure people are vulnerable to obesity and poor nutrition, including:

1. limited resources to obtain adequate or healthy food; 
2. lack of access to healthy, affordable foods; 
3. cycles of food deprivation and overeating; and 
4. high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

In addition, food insecurity is also linked to many diet-related diseases, like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Some evidence shows that food insecure adults with diabetes are more likely to have poor glucose control, which could be because they don’t have enough money to use their medication as directed, so they skip doses, take less medicine, or delay filling or refilling of prescriptions. For the same reason they may postpone preventive or needed medical care or forgo the foods they need for diabetic diets.

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 4/6/17, Food Insecurity & Health

What Food Banks Need To Know About HIPAA

Health care providers and payers (e.g., insurers) are increasingly seeking to work with food banks to ensure that food insecure patients receive nutrition assistance. These collaborations often require communication about the needs of patients and clients. But with more communication comes increased responsibility to think critically about how information that relates to patients and clients is shared and protected.

Federal law (HIPAA) requires health care providers to keep patient information private and secure. Potential health care partners will want to know that food banks have considered how they can keep the information that might be shared with them private and secure. A new resource provides food banks with an overview of how HIPAA influences information-sharing between health care providers and food banks and provides strategies for effective coordination and communication to keep health information safe.

Source: Harvard Law School, 3/17, Food Banks & HIPPA

MCC Will Host Forum on Food Insecuity

On March 30 and 31, Manchester Community College will be hosting a  two-day dialogue forum that will focus on food insecurity and inequality.

View flyer below for more information.

New Budget Proposal Cuts Funding for Vital Programs

Governor Malloy’s recent budget proposal cuts $77,000 from the state’s nutrition assistance program, which helps fund food pantries, outreach, and the state food stamps program. It also cuts the Care4Kids subsidy by 7.7 million (6%) in fiscal year 2018, which starts this June, and over $12 million in the following year. Care4Kids helps low-income families pay for childcare.

Family resource centers in Hartford, East Hartford, and New Britain, among other cities which provide school-aged children with childcare before and after school, as well as adult education classes for people with limited English proficiency, would lose nearly $4 million. And school-based health centers would lose over $1 million next year, a 10% cut.

Source: CT Mirror, 2/14/17, CT Budget Tracker

Teens Go Hungry In Food Insecure Families

In extremely poor American families, teens go hungry more often than younger children, a new study finds. Parents will first forgo food themselves to feed their kids. But if there still isn't enough food for everyone, younger children take priority over teens, the research shows.

Researchers said about 6% of kids who were 11 years old or younger weren't getting enough to eat, and 12% of those aged 12 to 18 regularly went hungry. Of those older children, 14% of boys didn't get enough food, compared to 10% of girls.

Source: UPI, 2/15/17, Hungry Teens

A New Toolkit To Help Pediatriticans Diagnose Hunger

Food insecurity is detrimental to children’s health and well-being. Children living in food-insecure households are more likely to get sick and be hospitalized than their peers and suffer developmental delays, behavioral problems, and obesity.

Pediatricians and other practitioners working with children play a vital role in protecting children and their families from food insecurity and its harmful consequences. To help, The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Research & Action Center have jointly released a new resource: Addressing Food Insecurity. The toolkit provides specific information on how to screen patients for food insecurity; make the appropriate interventions, most commonly by referring patients and their families to the federal nutrition programs; and advocate for greater food security and improved overall health of children and their families.

The Chance of Poverty is Strong For Children in U.S

"Out of all age groups, children are still most likely to live in poverty, according to new research from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Using the latest available data from the American Community Survey, NCCP researchers found that in 2015, while 30 percent of adults have low incomes, more than 40 percent of all children live in low-income families -- including 5.2 million infants and toddlers under 3.

Despite significant gains in household income and reductions in the overall poverty rate in recent years, 43 percent (30.6 million) of America's children are living in families barely able to afford their most basic needs, according to Basic Facts about Low-Income Children, the center's annual series of profiles on child poverty in America."

Source: NewsRoom, 2/9/17, Read More >

First Food...Now Child Care Deserts?

Food deserts are areas where fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful foods are hard to find due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers' markets, and healthy food providers. But a recent study shows that finding a child care program near home can be a struggle for many working families, too.

The study examined the location of child care centers in eight states that together comprise 20% of the U.S. population under the age of five. It found that 42% of these young children live in “child care deserts”—a ZIP code containing more than three children for every child care center slot.

On the whole, rural areas are more likely to be deserts than suburban or urban areas. But cities are not immune to limited child care supply: the study found Chicago to be the largest urban child care desert, with five out of every six children under the age of five living in a desert. Communities with high poverty rates are not necessarily more likely to be child care deserts. Areas with a poverty rate of 10 to 20% were most likely to qualify as child care deserts.


Source: Center for Law and Social Policy, 2/1/17, Child Care Deserts