Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Participants (N = 213) in Study of SNAP Eligibility, Food Security, and Health After a SNAP Policy Change, California, 2019–2020a .
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, y | |
| <50 | 41 (19.2) |
| 50–59 | 71 (33.3) |
| 60–69 | 80 (37.6) |
| 70–79 | 17 (8.0) |
| Missing data | 4 (1.9) |
| Sex/gender | |
| Male | 121 (56.8) |
| Female | 88 (41.3) |
| Other | 3 (1.4) |
| Missing data | 1 (0.5) |
| Race/ethnicityb | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 13 (6.1) |
| Asian | 5 (2.3) |
| Black/African American | 80 (37.6) |
| Hispanic/Latino | 17 (8.0) |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 1 (0.5) |
| White | 73 (34.3) |
| Don’t know/unknown/other | 41 (19.3) |
| Education | |
| <High school diploma | 54 (25.4) |
| High school graduate/GED | 50 (23.5) |
| Some college/vocational degree | 76 (35.7) |
| ≥College graduate | 31 (14.6) |
| Missing data | 2 (0.9) |
| Veteran status | |
| Veteran | 31 (14.6) |
| Nonveteran | 179 (84.0) |
| Data missing | 3 (1.4) |
| Employment status | |
| Employed | 8 (3.8) |
| Not employed | 203 (95.3) |
| Missing data | 2 (0.9) |
| Housing statusc | |
| Currently housed | 191 (89.7) |
| Unstably housed | 22 (10.3) |
| Annual household income, $ | |
| ≥15,000 | 24 (11.3) |
| <15,000 | 187 (87.8) |
| Missing data | 2 (0.9) |
| General health status | |
| Excellent/very good | 57 (26.8) |
| Good/fair/poor | 156 (73.2) |
| Healthy Eating Index, mean (median)d | |
| Healthy Eating Index–2015 | 44.3 (43.8) |
| Alternative Healthy Eating Index–2010 | 45.4 (45.9) |
| No. of unhealthy days in past 30 days, mean (median) | 17.1 (20.0) |
| Stress score, mean (median)e | |
| Mean (median) | 19.8 (20.0) |
| Low | 28 (13.1) |
| Medium | 145 (68.1) |
| High | 29 (13.6) |
| Missing data | 11 (5.2) |
| Food insecurity | |
| Food secure | 36 (16.9) |
| Food insecure | 177 (83.1) |
| Cost-related medication nonadherence | |
| Yes | 41 (19.2) |
| No | 129 (60.6) |
| Missing data | 43 (20.2) |
| Trade-offsf | |
| Mean (median) | 1.3 (0) |
| Made trade-offs between food and medicine/medical care | 76 (39.4) |
| Made trade-offs between food and utilities | 65 (35.9) |
| Made trade-offs between food and housing | 65 (34.6) |
| Made trade-offs between food and transportation | 67 (35.8) |
| Use of community food resources in past 30 days | |
| Overall | 171 (83.0) |
| Free groceries | 110 (64.3) |
| Free dining room/soup kitchen | 92 (53.8) |
| Home delivered meals | 25 (14.6) |
| Weekly food budget shortfall (n = 171); mean, median, $ | 73.33 (50.00) |
Abbreviation: SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Baseline survey administered to Supplemental Security Income recipients during May–August 2019; policy change in effect beginning June 1, 2019. All values are number (percentage) unless otherwise indicated; percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.
Participants can be both Hispanic and one of the races.
“Currently housed” defined as renting, owning, living in a single room occupancy unit/motel/hotel, low-income housing, or subsidized housing. “Unstably housed” defined as homeless, living in a shelter, or living in “someone else’s house.”
Scored from 0 to 100 with higher numbers indicating more nutritious dietary intake; 153 participants answered question; total of 423 dietary recalls.
Scored from 0 to 40: low, 0–13; moderate, 14–26; high, 27–40.
Trade-offs defined as answering yes to 1 or 2 times per year, some months, or every month (compared with never); 10.4%–16.6% of data for these variables were missing; percentages based on number who answered question.