Food Insecurity in Farmworker Households: Episodic or Chronic?

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.