Table 1.
Description of survey respondents’ demographics, physical health, mental health, social support, and coping strategies (n = 1029).
| Variables | Mean ± SD or n (%) |
|---|---|
| Respondent Demographics | |
| Age, Years | 34.0 ± 9.8 |
| Education | |
| Less than High School | 70 (6.8) |
| High School or GED | 410 (39.8) |
| Some College | 319 (31.0) |
| Associate’s | 119 (11.6) |
| Bachelor’s | 85 (8.3) |
| Postgraduate | 26 (2.5) |
| Race | |
| White | 673 (65.4) |
| Black or African American | 242 (23.5) |
| Asian | 26 (2.5) |
| Two or More Races | 52 (5.1) |
| Other | 43 (4.2) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Hispanic | 100 (9.7) |
| Number of People in Household | 4.2 ± 1.7 |
| Number of Children | 2.0 ± 1.1 |
| Child Age, Years | 7.6 ± 5.2 |
| Household Members | |
| Spouse | 386 (37.5) |
| Unmarried Partner | 263 (25.6) |
| Child Under 6 | 542 (52.7) |
| Child Over 6 | 603 (58.6) |
| Parent | 174 (16.9) |
| Sibling | 96 (9.3) |
| Relative | 78 (7.6) |
| Housemate | 35 (3.4) |
| Renter | 6 (0.6) |
| Other | 28 (2.7) |
| Childcare Assistance | |
| Spouse | 353 (34.3) |
| Unmarried Partner | 239 (23.2) |
| Older Child | 125 (12.1) |
| Parent | 265 (25.8) |
| Sibling | 77 (7.5) |
| Relative | 98 (9.5) |
| Housemate | 18 (1.7) |
| Other | 111 (10.8) |
| Annual Household Income, USD | 25,000 ± 16,032 |
| Assistance Program Usage 1 | |
| SNAP | 606 (58.9) |
| WIC | 242 (23.5) |
| NSLP/SBP | 389 (37.8) |
| Head Start | 40 (3.9) |
| TANF | 80 (7.8) |
| Food Banks | 280 (27.2) |
| TEFAP | 35 (3.4) |
| Public Housing | 74 (7.2) |
| USDA Summer Meals | 59 (5.7) |
| SNAP-Ed | 101 (9.8) |
| None | 179 (17.4) |
| Change in Assistance Program Benefits | |
| Started | 46 (4.5) |
| Increase | 349 (33.9) |
| No Change | 460 (44.7) |
| Decreased | 93 (9.0) |
| Lost | 81 (7.9) |
| Food Security Status 2 | |
| Low | 232 (22.5) |
| Very Low | 797 (77.5) |
| Physical Health 2 | |
| Overall Physical Health | |
| Poor | 69 (6.7) |
| Fair | 275 (26.7) |
| Good | 384 (37.3) |
| Very Good | 202 (19.6) |
| Excellent | 99 (9.6) |
| Health Conditions | |
| Obesity | 221 (21.5) |
| High Blood Pressure | 274 (26.6) |
| Heart Disease | 31 (3.0) |
| Diabetes | 73 (7.1) |
| Cancer | 25 (2.4) |
| None | 567 (55.1) |
| Diet Quality | |
| Poor | 145 (14.1) |
| Fair | 357 (34.7) |
| Good | 349 (33.9) |
| Very Good | 123 (12.0) |
| Excellent | 55 (5.3) |
| Mental Health 2 | |
| Overall Mental Health 3 | 44.3 ± 10.1 |
| Anxiety Symptoms 3 | 61.2 ± 9.5 |
| Depression Symptoms 3 | 60.3 ± 10.4 |
| Stress | |
| Low | 37 (3.6) |
| Average | 400 (38.9) |
| High | 592 (57.5) |
| Life Satisfaction | |
| Extremely Dissatisfied | 167 (16.2) |
| Dissatisfied | 198 (19.2) |
| Slightly Below Average | 233 (22.6) |
| Average | 226 (22.0) |
| High | 118 (11.5) |
| Very High | 87 (8.5) |
| Social Support 2 | |
| Total Social Support 4 | 19.9 ± 4.6 |
| Interaction Sub-Score 4 | 7.6 ± 2.0 |
| Satisfaction Sub-Score 4 | 12.3 ± 3.4 |
| Food Coping Strategies 2 | |
| Tradeoffs Total 5 | 2.0 ± 1.0 |
| Medicine | 1.9 ± 1.1 |
| Utilities | 2.3 ± 1.3 |
| Rent/Mortgage | 2.2 ± 1.3 |
| Transportation | 2.2 ± 1.3 |
| Education | 1.6 ± 1.1 |
| Financial | |
| Asked friends and family for food or money for food | 537 (52.1) |
| Sold food or pawned any personal property | 302 (29.5) |
| Skipped paying bills to buy food | 515 (50.0) |
| Bought the cheapest food available | 861 (83.4) |
| Avoided buying expensive foods, e.g., fruits/vegetables | 689 (66.8) |
| Mean = 2.80 (SD = 1.66), 5 items | |
| Rationing | |
| Locked up or hid food to save it | 327 (31.8) |
| Stretched food by limiting | 557 (54.1) |
| Avoided having guests to avoid serving food | 543 (52.8) |
| Eaten as much as possible when food is available | 483 (46.9) |
| Eaten meals or snacks after children finished | 620 (60.3) |
| Mean = 2.44 (SD = 1.72), 5 items | |
| Independent Questions | |
| Visited a social or community event just to eat | 364 (35.4) |
| Removed spoiled parts from fruits/vegetables | 436 (42.4) |
1 SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; WIC: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; NSLP/SBP: National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program; TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; TEFAP: The Emergency Food Assistance Program; SNAP-Ed: SNAP Education. 2 Tools used to assess measures: Food Security—United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Module; Overall Physical Health—one-item Likert-type scale (DeSalvo et al.); Diet Quality—one-item Likert-type scale (Loftfield et al.); Overall Mental Health—Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Mental 2a Scale v1.2; Anxiety—PROMIS Emotional Distress v1.0—Anxiety—Short Form 4a; Depression—PROMIS Emotional Distress v1.0—Depression—Short Form 4a; Stress—National Institutes of Health Toolbox Perceived Stress for Adults; Life Satisfaction—Satisfaction with Life Scale; Social Support—Modified Duke Social Support Inventory; Food Coping Strategies—Hunger Coping Scales. 3 Scores from these scales are converted to T-scores that are standardized to the U.S. population with a mean score of 50. Scores greater than 50 indicate a greater presence of that phenomenon (i.e., greater mental health or anxiety). 4 The total social support is out of a possible 30, the interaction subscale is out of 12, and the satisfaction subscale is out of 18. 5 Tradeoffs were measured on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being never and 5 being always.