Table 2.
Demographic Characteristics by Level of Food Security (Using Aggregated Responses from All Four Waves of Data Collection)
| Food secure (N = 192) | Marginally food insecure (N = 226) | Moderately food insecure (N = 446) | Severely food insecure (N = 409) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 47.2 (14.9) | 46.1 (14.0) | 43.9 (13.0) | 42.2 (12.0) |
| Gender | ||||
| Men | 72 (37.5%) | 99 (43.8%) | 158 (35.4%) | 173 (42.3%) |
| Women | 112 (58.3%) | 106 (46.9%) | 257 (57.6%) | 208 (50.9%) |
| Gender diverse | 8 (4.2%) | 21 (9.3%) | 31 (7.0%) | 28 (6.8%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Education | ||||
| Some college degree or less | 118 (61.5%) | 141 (62.4%) | 257 (57.6%) | 274 (67.0%) |
| College degree | 26 (13.5%) | 29 (12.8%) | 101 (22.6%) | 61 (14.9%) |
| Bachelor’s or graduate degree | 36 (18.8%) | 32 (14.2%) | 56 (12.6%) | 47 (11.5%) |
| Other | 12 (6.2%) | 24 (10.6%) | 32 (7.2%) | 27 (6.6%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Household income (CAN$) | ||||
| 0–599 | 9 (4.7%) | 21 (9.3%) | 50 (11.2%) | 66 (16.1%) |
| 600–1199 | 51 (26.6%) | 81 (35.8%) | 183 (41.0%) | 187 (45.7%) |
| 1200–1799 | 46 (24.0%) | 56 (24.8%) | 100 (22.4%) | 72 (17.6%) |
| 1800–2399 | 23 (12.0%) | 18 (8.0%) | 37 (8.3%) | 22 (5.4%) |
| 2400 or more | 21 (10.9%) | 16 (7.1%) | 20 (4.5%) | 21 (5.1%) |
| Missing | 42 (21.9%) | 34 (15.0%) | 56 (12.6%) | 41 (10.0%) |
| Born in Canada | ||||
| Yes | 108 (56.2%) | 139 (61.5%) | 330 (74.0%) | 321 (78.5%) |
| No | 77 (40.1%) | 69 (30.5%) | 95 (21.3%) | 77 (18.8%) |
| Missing | 7 (3.6%) | 18 (8.0%) | 21 (4.7%) | 11 (2.7%) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 99 (51.6%) | 109 (48.2%) | 251 (56.3%) | 236 (57.7%) |
| First Nations/Metis/ Inuit | 12 (6.2%) | 15 (6.6%) | 41 (9.2%) | 46 (11.2%) |
| Visible minority | 81 (42.2%) | 102 (45.1%) | 154 (34.5%) | 127 (31.1%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Marital status | ||||
| Not marrieda | 116 (60.4%) | 146 (64.6%) | 323 (72.4%) | 298 (72.9%) |
| Marrieda | 74 (38.5%) | 74 (32.7%) | 115 (25.8%) | 107 (26.2%) |
| Missing | 2 (1.0%) | 6 (2.7%) | 8 (1.8%) | 4 (1.0%) |
| Dependents | ||||
| No dependent | 93 (48.4%) | 120 (53.1%) | 234 (52.5%) | 232 (56.7%) |
| one or more dependents | 96 (50.0%) | 98 (43.4%) | 201 (45.1%) | 171 (41.8%) |
| Missing | 3 (1.6%) | 8 (3.5%) | 11 (2.5%) | 6 (1.5%) |
| Physical health (SF12 subscale) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 47.2 (10.7) | 45.7 (11.2) | 43.7 (11.3) | 42.5 (10.7) |
| Mental health (SF12 subscale) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 48.8 (11.5) | 44.5 (12.2) | 39.6 (11.4) | 35.8 (10.8) |
| Frequency of use of food bankb | ||||
| 0 | 34 (17.7%) | 30 (13.3%) | 39 (8.7%) | 39 (9.5%) |
| 1 | 36 (18.8%) | 55 (24.3%) | 101 (22.6%) | 90 (22.0%) |
| 2 | 39 (20.3%) | 38 (16.8%) | 79 (17.7%) | 86 (21.0%) |
| 3 or more | 83 (43.2%) | 103 (45.6%) | 225 (50.4%) | 193 (47.2%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.4%) | 1 (0.2%) |
Notes. ‘Missing’ values refer to unanswered questions within surveys. a‘Married’ includes living with a partner. b‘Frequency of use of food bank’ refers to the previous 3 months