Table 2.
Food bank users' socio-demographic and health characteristics.
| Variable | Participants |
|---|---|
| Age in years (n = 1033, mean ± SD) | 53.1 ± 14.8 |
| Gender (n = 1033) | |
| Female | 589 (57.0%) |
| Male | 444 (43.0%) |
| Country of birth (n = 1032) | |
| Germany | 576 (55.8%) |
| Other | 456 (44.2%) |
| Highest completed education (n = 985) | |
| No graduation | 49 (5.0%) |
| Graduation at 10th grade or earlier | 565 (57.3%) |
| Graduation at 12th/13th grade (university entrance) | 371 (37.7%) |
| Household composition (n = 1002) | |
| Single, no children | 559 (55.8%) |
| Couple, no children | 142 (14.2%) |
| Couple, children | 135 (13.5%) |
| Single-parent | 82 (8.2%) |
| Other (e.g. shared living) | 84 (8.4%) |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2, n = 887) | |
| Underweight or normal weight (BMI < 24.9) | 280 (31.6%) |
| Overweight (BMI 25–29.9) | 277 (31.2%) |
| Obesity (BMI ≥ 30) | 330 (37.2%) |
| Smoking status (n = 1028) | |
| No | 644 (62.6%) |
| Yes | 384 (37.4%) |
| Self-rated health status (n = 1026) | |
| Good/very good | 350 (34.1%) |
| Moderate | 464 (45.2%) |
| Bad/very bad | 212 (20.7%) |
| Food bank visits (n = 1023) | |
| <4×/month | 327 (32.0%) |
| 4×/month or more | 696 (68.0%) |
| Duration of food bank use (n = 1029) | |
| 12 months or less | 306 (29.7%) |
| >12 months | 723 (70.3%) |
Survey conducted between May and August of 2015 among food bank users in Germany.