142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

298501
Food Insecurity in Farmworker Households: Episodic or Chronic?

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Sara A. Quandt, PhD , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Cynthia Suerken, MS , Department of Biostatistical Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem
Grisel Trejo, MPH , Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Joseph G. Grzywacz, PhD , Department of Human Development & Family Science, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, OK
Edward Ip, PhD , Department of Biostatistical Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Thomas A. Arcury, PhD , Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Reports of food insecurity for farmworker households have found 50-80% food insecure.  However, most measure difficulty obtaining enough food over a 12-month period.  For workers whose income may fluctuate seasonally, this long recall period makes it difficult to know whether reported food insecurity is episodic or chronic.  The goals of this study were to (1) describe within-household variation in food security over four quarters, and (2) identify predictors of episodes of food insecurity.  The USDA Food Security Module was administered quarterly over one year to 231 Latino farmworker families with children 2-3 years at baseline. Families were recruited in North Carolina (28% migrant; 72% seasonal).  In total, families contributed data for 834 quarters in 2011-13.  Low or very low food security (“food insecurity”) was reported for 24.6% of quarters.  Food insecurity was concentrated in about half of the families, with less than 10% reporting food insecurity during all quarters.  In logistic regression predicting food insecurity, being migrant (vs. seasonal) and reporting a move during the quarter increased the odds of being food insecure in any quarter, while using diverse food sources (e.g., gardening, fishing), having more children, and the child obtaining meals at childcare (e.g., Migrant Head Start) or school decreased the odds of being food insecure.  Season of the year, parental employment, and household size were not associated with food insecurity.  These findings suggest that food insecurity in farmworker families is largely episodic, not chronic. These findings help identify farmworker families most likely to need food or income assistance.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
List characteristics of farmwork (work and mobility patterns, legibility for safety net programs) that potentiate food insecurity. Describe patterns of food insecurity among farmworker families. Discuss factors related to the occurrence of food insecurity and possible solutions.

Keyword(s): Occupational Health and Safety, Immigrant Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I direct the study from which the data presented here come. I hold a PhD in Anthropology, with minor in Human Nutrition. I have conducted research with farmworkers since 1996. I have published in the area of food security since the 1980s.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.