Abstract
Objective: To determine if household coping strategies for child hunger in Canada have changed over a decade (1996–2007).
Methods: We applied t-tests to data derived from Cycle 2 (1996–1997; n=8165) and Cycle 7 (2006–2007; n=15,961) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to determine changes in household coping strategies for child hunger. Data were restricted to households with children aged 2–9 years, allowing for cross-sectional analysis of two independent samples. Logistic regression was employed to estimate the odds of reporting child hunger for socio-demographic characteristics and the odds of using different coping strategies.
Results: The national prevalence of child hunger fell from 1.5% in 1997 to 0.7% in 2007 (p<0.001). The determinants of child hunger (increased child age and household size, lack of home ownership, low household income, lone-parent status, family dysfunction) and hunger frequency (regular versus occasional) were similar in both NLSCY cycles. Utilization of food banks and other community resources as a method of coping with child hunger remained static despite an increase in national food banks/affiliated agencies in Canada (2,141 in 1998 to 3,540 in 2007). In contrast, there was an increased reliance on reducing household food variety, an internal coping mechanism, to manage child hunger (17.6% Cycle 2 to 35.1% Cycle 7; p=0.03).
Conclusion: Community outreach programs between 1997 and 2007 had little impact on coping strategies utilized by households facing child hunger. Our results indicate that current initiatives fail to reach these families.
Key words: Children, hunger, food insecurity, coping, poverty, Canada
Résumé
Objectif: Déterminer si les stratégies d’adaptation des ménages à la faim chez leurs enfants au Canada ont changé sur une période de 10 ans (1996–2007).
Méthode: Nous avons appliqué des tests t aux données dérivées du cycle 2 (1996–1997; n=8 165) et du cycle 7 (2006–2007; n=15 961) de l’Enquête longitudinale nationale sur les enfants et les jeunes (ELNEJ) afin de déterminer les changements dans les stratégies d’adaptation des ménages à la faim chez leurs enfants. Les données ont été limitées aux ménages avec enfants de 2 à 9 ans, ce qui a permis une analyse transversale de deux échantillons indépendants. Par régression logistique, nous avons estimé la probabilité pour les répondants de déclarer la faim chez leurs enfants selon le profil sociodémographique, et la probabilité d’utiliser différentes stratégies d’adaptation.
Résultats: La prévalence nationale de la faim chez les enfants a diminué, passant de 1,5 % en 1997 à 0,7 % en 2007 (p<0,001). Les déterminants de la faim chez les enfants (augmentation de l’âge des enfants et de la taille des ménages, non-propriété, faible revenu des ménages, monoparentalité, dysfonction familiale) et la fréquence de la faim (régulière ou occasionnelle) étaient semblables dans les deux cycles de l’ELNEJ. Le recours aux banques alimentaires et à d’autres ressources communautaires comme méthode d’adaptation à la faim des enfants est demeuré stable malgré l’augmentation du nombre de banques alimentaires nationales et d’organismes affiliés au Canada (2 141 en 1998 contre 3 540 en 2007). Par contre, il y a eu un recours accru à la réduction de la variété dans l’alimentation des ménages - un mécanisme d’adaptation interne - pour composer avec la faim chez les enfants (de 17,6 % au cycle 2 à 35,1 % au cycle 7; p=0,03).
Conclusion: Les programmes d’extension des services à la communauté menés entre 1997 et 2007 ont eu peu d’effet sur les stratégies d’adaptation utilisées par les ménages confrontés à la faim chez leurs enfants. Nos résultats montrent que les initiatives actuelles ne joignent pas ces familles.
Mots clés: enfant, faim, insécurité alimentaire, adaptation, pauvreté, Canada
Footnotes
Funding Sources: Operating grant: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grant number: MOP-89731).
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
References
- 1.Kirkpatrick SI, Tarasuk V. Food insecurity is associated with nutrient inadequacies among Canadian adults and adolescents. J Nutr. 2008;1383:604–12. doi: 10.1093/jn/138.3.604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.McIntyre L, Connor SK, Warren J. Child hunger in Canada: Results of the 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. CMAJ. 2000;1638:961–65. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Ricciuto LE, Tarasuk VS. An examination of income-related disparities in the nutritional quality of food selections among Canadian households from 1986–2001. Soc Sci Med. 2007;641:186–98. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Weinreb L, Wehler C, Perloff J, Scott R, Hosmer D, Sagor L, et al. Hunger: Its impact on children’s health and mental health. Pediatrics. 2002;110(4):e41. doi: 10.1542/peds.110.4.e41. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Kirkpatrick SI, McIntyre L, Potestio ML. Child hunger and long-term adverse consequences for health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;1648:754–62. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Statistics Canada 2010. National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4450& lang=en&db=imdb&adm=8&dis=2 (Accessed March 1, 2012).
- 7.Che J, Chen J. Food insecurity in Canadian households. Health Rep. 2001;124:11–22. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Ledrou I, Gervais J. Food insecurity. Health Rep. 2005;163:47–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Office of Nutrition PolicyPromotion. Income-Related Household Food Security in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Health Canada; 2007. [Google Scholar]
- 10.McIntyre L, Glanville NT, Raine KD, Dayle JB, Anderson B, Battaglia N. Do low-income lone mothers compromise their nutrition to feed their children? CMAJ. 2003;1686:686–91. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Sim SM, Glanville NT, McIntyre L. Food management behaviours in food-insecure, lone mother-led families. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2011;723:123–29. doi: 10.3148/72.3.2011.123. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.McIntyre L, Raine K, Dayle JB. The institutionalization of children’s feeding programs in Atlantic Canada. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2001;622:53–57. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13.Dachner N, Ricciuto L, Kirkpatrick SI, Tarasuk V. Food purchasing and food insecurity among low-income families in Toronto. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2010;71(3):e50–e56. doi: 10.3148/71.3.2010.127. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14.Rainville B, Brink S. Food insecurity in Canada, 1998–1999. Ottawa, ON: Human Resources Development Canada, Applied Research Branch of Strategic Policy; 2001. [Google Scholar]
- 15.Food Banks Canada. HungerCount 2011. Toronto, ON: Food Banks Canada; 2011. [Google Scholar]
- 16.Henry C, Vandale C, Whiting S, Woods F, Berenbaum S, Blunt A. Breakfast/Snack Programs in Saskatchewan Elementary Schools: Evaluating Benefits, Barriers, and Essential Skills. Saskatoon, SK: Community University Institute for Social Research, University of Saskatchewan; 2005. [Google Scholar]
- 17.Raine K, McIntyre L, Dayle JB. The failure of charitable school- and community-based nutrition programmes to feed hungry children. Critical Public Health. 2003;132:155–69. doi: 10.1080/0958159031000097634. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 18.Engler-Stringer R, Berenbaum S. Collective kitchens in Canada: A review of the literature. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2005;664:246–51. doi: 10.3148/66.4.2005.246. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 19.Crawford SM, Kalina L. Building food security through health promotion: Community kitchens. 1997;58:197–201. [Google Scholar]
- 20.Fairholm J. Urban Agriculture and Food Security Initiatives in Canada: A Survey of Canadian Non-governmental Organizations. Ottawa, ON: International Development Research Centre, Ottawa; 1999. [Google Scholar]
- 21.Toronto Green Community. Programs, Food Security Links. Available at: http://www.torontogreen.ca/index.php/programs-mainmenu-121/sustain-able-food/food-security-database.html (Accessed May 22, 2012).
- 22.Atlantic Regional Office, Public Health Agency of Canada, and Atlantic Regional Office, Health Canada. Healthier Food, Healthier People Project. A Joint Initiative, 2007. Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/canada/regions/atlantic/Publications/Healthier_food/Healthier_Food_E.pdf (Accessed May 22, 2012).
- 23.Epp S. Provincial Approaches to Food Security. Manitoba: Food Matters Manitoba and the Manitoba Alternative Food Research Alliance; 2011. [Google Scholar]
- 24.Centre for Science in the Public Interest. A National Nutritious School Meal Program for Canadian Children. 2009. [Google Scholar]
- 25.Tarasuk V. A critical examination of community-based responses to household food insecurity in Canada. Health Educ Behav. 2001;284:487–99. doi: 10.1177/109019810102800408. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 26.Hamelin AM, Mercier C, Bedard A. Perceptions of needs and responses in food security: Divergence between households and stakeholders. Public Health Nutr. 2008;1112:1389–96. doi: 10.1017/S1368980008003406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 27.Tarasuk V, Vogt J. Household food insecurity in Ontario. Can J Public Health. 2009;100(3):184–88. doi: 10.1007/BF03405537. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 28.Tarasuk V. Household food insecurity with hunger is associated with women’s food intakes, health and household circumstances. J Nutr. 2001;131(10):2670–76. doi: 10.1093/jn/131.10.2670. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 29.Statistics Canada 2011. Canada at a Glance. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-581-x/12-581-x2011000-eng.pdf (Accessed March 1, 2012).
- 30.Glanville N. Theresa, Mcintyre Lynn. Diet Quality of Atlantic Families Headed by Single Mothers. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2006;67(1):28–35. doi: 10.3148/67.1.2006.28. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 31.Williams PL, McIntyre L, Dayle JB, Raine K. The ‘wonderfulness’ of children’s feeding programs. Health Promot Int. 2003;182:163–70. doi: 10.1093/heapro/18.2.163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 32.McIntyre L, Officer S, Robinson LM. Feeling poor: The felt experience. Low-income lone mothers. Affilia. 2003;183:316–31. doi: 10.1177/0886109903254581. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 33.City of Toronto. Gifts, Loans and Donations. 2010. [Google Scholar]
- 34.McMullin JA, Davies L, Cassidy G. Welfare reform in Ontario: Tough times in mothers’ lives. Can Public Policy. 2002;282:297–314. doi: 10.2307/3552330. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 35.Maxwell G. (Community Development Halton, Social Planning Network of Ontario). Poverty reduction policies and programs in Ontario: Poverty in Ontario - Failed promise and the renewal of hope: Social Development Report Series 2009. 2009. [Google Scholar]