Food Acquisition Strategies, Food Security, and Health Status Among Families With Children Using Food Pantries

Social workers working with families must consider the relationship between food insecurity and health. Low-income households often have limited food options and rely on food acquisition strategies to stretch food dollars. This study included 532 adults with children who completed surveys at one of 40 food pantries in 26 counties. This study highlights the ways families acquired food to meet their needs, what health issues were prevalent, and the relationship between food acquisition strategies and food security. Despite using multiple acquisition strategies, 74% were in food-insecure households and 80% were overweight or obese. This study provides evidence that food security and health should be considered when conducting assessments, testing interventions, and developing policies across practice settings. • Practitioners working with families in multiple settings should consider the use of brief food security assessments in conjunction with mental and physical health assessments. • Practitioners should consider ways to incorporate food security strategies that encourage self-reliant food acquisition and capitalize on social networks sharing food knowledge and resources in communities. M illions of Americans are experiencing uncertainty about their ability to regularly provide meals that will meet their family's dietary needs U.S. recession, which resulted in massive reductions in employment, wages, and employment-based benefits (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). The recession resulted in a 2% decline in median income between 2009 and 2010 and an increase in households living at or below the federal poverty level (FPL; DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011), which contributed to the fact that the number of households struggling to meet their food needs increased to its highest level in 14 years (Nord et al., 2010). Households with children are especially vulnerable when adults are not fully employed and families are at a greater risk of experiencing food insecurity (Cole-man-Jensen & Nord, 2013). Food insecurity has been associated with poor physical health, poor child cogni-tive and emotional development, and adult depression all of which can lead to long-term consequences like an impaired workforce, high health care costs, and the creation of generational poverty (Cook & Jeng, 2009). Households with limited food budgets are forced to make dietary decisions, which often result in reduced quantity or nutritional quality of food consumed (McGranahan, 2008). While households often purchase food at grocery stores and make food choices based on location, availability of food items, and cost of food, many use gov-1991). Obtaining food through a variety of sources is a coping …