Food insecurity among low-income households with children participating in a school-based fruit and vegetable co-op

Authors: MARSHALL, ALLISON - University Of Texas Health Science Center; CHUANG, RU - University Of Texas Health Science Center; CHOW, JOANNE - University Of Texas Health Science Center; RANJIT, NALINI - University Of Texas Health Science Center; DAVE, JAYNA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); MATHUR, MALLIKA - University Of Texas Health Science Center; MARKHAM, CHRISTINE - University Of Texas Health Science Center; SHARMA, SHREELA - University Of Texas Health Science Center

Submitted to: Children
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2022
Publication Date: 8/19/2022
Citation: Marshall, A.N., Chuang, R.J., Chow, J., Ranjit, N., Dave, J.M., Mathur, M., Markham, C., Sharma, S.V. 2022. Food insecurity among low-income households with children participating in a school-based fruit and vegetable co-op. Children. 9(8). Article 1250. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081250.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081250

Interpretive Summary: Households with children experience higher food insecurity than households without children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an intervention as part of the Brighter Bites program on food insecurity among low-income households with children. The 1-year intervention aimed at increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables (F&V) and providing nutrition education targeting increased F&V consumption for participating children and parents. Data were collected from 371 parent–child dyads recruited from 12 schools (6 intervention schools receiving Brighter Bites, 6 wait-list control schools) in Houston, Texas. Data were collected at baseline, 1 year for all participants, and at 2-year follow-up for the intervention group. At baseline, most parents reported food insecurity. Food insecurity decreased significantly among intervention participants post-intervention at 1-year follow-up. However, while in the direction desired, there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups pre-to-post intervention. Additionally, there was a sustained decrease in prevalence of food insecurity at 2-year post-intervention follow-up among those in the intervention group. The results showing decreased food insecurity among intervention participants demonstrated a positive impact of Brighter intervention that improve access to healthy food resulting in reduced food insecurity. These data support the need for future studies to be conducted to understand the mechanisms and evaluate the impact of programs such as Brighter Bites on food security rigorous study designs and a study sample powered to this outcome.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a nutrition intervention on food insecurity among low-income households with children. Data were collected from 371 parent–child dyads in a quasi-experimental evaluation study of a 1-year intervention (n=6 intervention schools receiving Brighter Bites, n=6 wait-list control schools), and longitudinal follow-up of the intervention group 2 years post-intervention in Houston, Texas. Data were collected at three timepoints: at baseline and 1 year for all participants, and at 2 year follow-up for the intervention group (the wait-list control group received the intervention during that time). At baseline, most parents reported food insecurity (60.6%; 70% intervention group, 53.6% control). Food insecurity decreased significantly from 81.3% to 61.7% [(-0.32, -0.07) p=0.002] among intervention participants immediately post-intervention. After adjusting for ethnicity, 2 years post-intervention the predicted percentage of participants reporting food insecurity decreased significantly by roughly 35.4% from 76.4% at baseline to 41.0% [(-0.49, -0.22), p<0.001]. Between-group changes were not significant. The results of this study demonstrated a significant positive impact of Brighter Bites on food security in the short and long-term among low-income households with children, albeit results should be interpreted with caution.