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Monthly variations in food intake and diet quality of women participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Author(s) -
Sanjeevi Namrata,
FreelandGraves Jeanne H
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.791.14
Subject(s) - supplemental nutrition assistance program , medicine , environmental health , receipt , economic shortage , food frequency questionnaire , demographics , demography , population , gerontology , food insecurity , food security , biology , business , linguistics , philosophy , accounting , agriculture , ecology , government (linguistics) , sociology
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays a critical role in reducing food insecurity in the United States. The SNAP benefits are issued once every month, and households redeem over three‐quarters of their benefits within the first 2 weeks of receipt. Consequently, food shortages may occur towards the end of the month when benefits are exhausted. Low‐income women, in particular, are a vulnerable population to inadequate food supply as they may compromise their diets to provide for their families. In order to gain an accurate knowledge of dietary behaviors of female SNAP participants, we investigated their food intake and diet quality over 1 month. A total of 152 women in SNAP were recruited from the Partner Agencies of the Central Texas Food Bank. Subjects were administered a demographics questionnaire, and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) based on a reference period of 1 week. The FFQ was completed four times, each with an interval of 1 week, so that it reflected diets of participants during weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the monthly cycle of benefit receipt. The Healthy Eating Index‐2010 was used to determine diet quality for each time point. A mixed linear model was conducted using time as the independent variable, and food intake and diet quality as the dependent variables. Pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni adjustment were carried out when significant main effects were detected. A significant decrease in daily intakes of fruits, vegetables, and dairy was observed over the month. In contrast, the consumption of refined grains was significantly greater in week 4. Diet quality score was significantly lower in week 4 (49) when compared to weeks 1 (56), 2 (54) and 3 (52). Furthermore, participants reported fewer home‐prepared meals and higher incidence of dining‐out at week 4. These results show that receipt of SNAP benefits in monthly intervals is related to lower diet quality and greater reliance on restaurants and fast food establishments towards the end of the month. The decrease in diet quality at the end of the month might be improved with bi‐monthly receipt of benefits to even out inconsistencies in the food supply. Support or Funding Information The Bess Heflin Centennial Professorship