Table 4.

Themes, Categories, and Quotes for Strategies Applied by Rural Households with a Low-income to Confront Food Security (n = 153).

Struggles to Secure Food Categories	Definition of Categories	Illustrative Quotes
Affordability	Ability to pay for food due to low-paying jobs, no jobs, or food prices; could include financial insecurity due to unemployment, seasonal work, not enough SNAP benefits, having to use money for household or medical bills instead of food	OR_02: Porque hay muy poco trabajo entonces ahí si tienes que estirar lo más que puedas porque la luz sube mucho, el gas sube mucho, todos los servicios de casa suben más y no hay suficientes fondos para alcanzar. Con suficiente comida tienes que limitarte porque regularmente aquí trabajamos en el campo y el esposo es el que más trabaja y en el invierno no tienen trabajo. Translation: Because there is little work, you have to stretch (food) as much as possible because the light (bill) has increased a lot, the gas (bill) has increased a lot, all of the services of a house increase more and there are not sufficient funds to cover all of the costs. When you have sufficient food you need to limit yourself because normally here we work in the fields and the husband is the one who works the most and in the winter they do not have work.
Adequacy	Having enough of specific foods or a lack of enough quality food. Fruits and vegetables and proteins (i.e., meat) were especially mentioned.	MT_07: Probably just having enough food. We don’t have a lot of the best foods, it’s really hard to buy fruit and vegetables and fresh produce all the time. You just can’t. And so pretty much everything’s processed. But we survive. But we eat a lot of meats in our house, so that’s probably—yeah.
Accommodation	Satisfying picky eaters or navigating differences in food preferences, especially vegetables	TX_18: They’re picky. Kids are picky. So, one might not like carrots, the other one might like carrots, so I still put vegetables in my food, and they still have to eat vegetables. If one doesn’t like the carrot, he might not eat them, but the other one might eat them.
Appetite	Satiating a family member’s (usually child or male partner) insatiable hunger	WV_23: I’ve got two teenagers that can really eat. I mean, they can go through food; that’s why I go to the store about every week. I can’t keep food in the house.
Time	Lacking required time to cook healthy meals drives providing convenience food rather than preparing meals	AR_05: It seemed like whenever me and him were both working, I was just so tired and exhausted because I was also in school, as well. So, it seems like we ate out more because I just didn’t feel like coming home and cooking a full course meal and stuff. So, I think that’s where it affected us the most. Like I said, instead of just going and buying something to cook, you kind of just go buy something that’s already cooked and that’s not good.
Coping Mechanisms to Secure Food Categories	Definition of Categories	Illustrative Quote
Food Source Coordinating	Drawing upon multiple support systems to obtain food, including informal, formal, and alternative systems for sources of food.	WV_14: Food pantries here at [local organization], SNAP, and if we’re running low on anything usually the family will help.
	Support systems defined as: Informal support system: receiving food from family and friends, borrowing money from family and friends	NC_11: The entire check, I had nothing left, so I had to ask a couple of friends for money, get my kids something to eat, some snacks for school.
	Formal support system: signing up for SNAP/WIC, school meals, utilizing food pantries and food banks, community meals	MT_22: I like to try to stay close to our native foods that our ancestors grew; a lot of berries, a lot of—roots and things and—and deer meat—game, wild game. I try to stick to that.
	Alternative sources of food: gardening, hunting, fishing, canning	TX_07: Well, if it wasn’t for SNAP, I couldn’t feed ‘em [my family].
Food Resource Management	Exhibiting skill and desire to shop for and prepare healthy food, including buying only what is necessary, choosing the same items every month to stay on budget, going to multiple stores based on coupons and/or sales, buying in bulk, buying dented/damaged packages, choosing generic brands, comparing unit prices, cooking meals from scratch, or freezing and canning	NC_11: I would say giving them different options with food. A lot of people like to cook the same thing. If I have maybe a box of the instant noodles, like macaroni noodles and I have some vegetables in there, a can of vegetables or maybe some string beans or something, I’m going to try to make some type of pasta, soup or something. I love to try new things and that’s when you know you can really cook anyway when you ain’t got much to go off of.
Reduced Quality	Improvising recipes/meals with foods that are not typically served together, eating/buying food past the expiration date, choosing cheaper options that are processed instead of fresh foods, serving simple meals with less variety	TX_23: Yeah, sometimes the milk will probably be two or three days after. But, no more than three days after the date. Q: Okay. And then have you ever watered down food or drinks to make it last longer? TX_23: Yeah, some macaroni and cheese.
Rationing for Food	Eating less at meals, conservative portion sizes, stretching food to make efficient meals, using leftovers even when not a desirable combination	OR_08: We eat just a little piece each. I actually did barbeque yesterday night—yesterday afternoon and I did how I normally did it and a lot of it was left. So this morning my husband had leftovers and there’s still leftovers now so I think we’re gonna be eating that the rest of the day today.
Exceptional Desperation	Adults skipping meals for children, selling/pawning items, stealing food/items, avoiding wasting food scraps even when unappetizing, watering down food and drink, asking for discounts	NC_07: To be honest, I would steal sometimes, that’s all. I would go steal stuff and just to get food for my daughter. Q: And you never got caught? NC_07: No—well, one time, yeah, I did once before, I guess. Q: Did they—did you explain your—I’m curious, did you explain your situation? Did they let you go, and were they understanding? NC_07: No, well, they took me to jail. Q: Oh, they took you to jail? NC_07: I went to jail and I got probation for it. I was on probation for a year.