Food Stamp Receipt and Responses to Six Household Food Security Questions (15.7.1)
Table 15.7.1 examines the associations between responses to the food security questions in the client survey and their food stamp participation.
Table 15.7.1
FOOD STAMP RECEIPT AND
RESPONSES TO SIX HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY QUESTIONS
|
|
|
Food Stamp Receipt Status of Households |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All Client Households |
Receiving Food Stamps |
Apparently Eligible, not Receiving |
Apparently Ineligible Because of Income, not Receiving a |
Food didn’t last; no money to buy more b |
|
|
|
|
Often true |
32.8% |
36.8% |
32.4% |
19.9% |
Sometimes true |
42.8% |
43.6% |
43.5% |
36.1% |
Never true |
24.3% |
19.6% |
24.0% |
44.0% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
48,196 |
18,902 |
24,573 |
4,721 |
Couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals b |
|
|
|
|
Often true |
25.4% |
25.4% |
26.9% |
17.9% |
Sometimes true |
41.2% |
42.6% |
41.8% |
33.0% |
Never true |
33.3% |
32.0% |
31.3% |
49.0% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
48,170 |
18,866 |
24,595 |
4,709 |
Cut size/skip meals because not enough food c |
|
|
|
|
Almost every month |
25.3% |
28.6% |
25.0% |
14.1% |
Some months but not every month |
18.9% |
18.7% |
19.5% |
16.9% |
Only one or two months |
6.9% |
7.1% |
7.1% |
5.8% |
Never |
48.8% |
45.6% |
48.4% |
63.0% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
47,753 |
18,683 |
24,384 |
4,686 |
Ever ate less than should because no moneyd |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
52.9% |
55.7% |
53.9% |
37.2% |
No |
47.1% |
44.3% |
46.1% |
62.8% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
48,389 |
18,942 |
24,723 |
4,724 |
Ever hungry but didn’t eat because no money d |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
39.5% |
41.4% |
40.7% |
25.8% |
No |
60.5% |
58.6% |
59.3% |
74.2% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
48,433 |
18,933 |
24,768 |
4,732 |
Ever not eat for whole day because no money d |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
26.9% |
28.6% |
27.8% |
15.8% |
No |
73.1% |
71.4% |
72.2% |
84.2% |
TOTAL |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
48,516 |
18,981 |
24,794 |
4,741 |
Note:
In calculating percentages and sample sizes, we excluded item nonresponses to all variables involved.
a Eligibility was determined based on the previous month’s income alone.
b Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 4) at the 1% level.
c Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 6) at the 1% level.
d Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 2) at the 1% level.
Overall, households receiving food stamps and households that appear to be eligible but are not receiving food stamps have similar response patterns. Further, both these groups are substantially more likely to provide responses that indicate food insecurity than the households who appear to be ineligible for food stamps.
- 36.8% of food stamp recipients and 32.4% of apparently eligible nonparticipants said that it was “often true” that food didn’t last and there was no money to buy more; the comparable percentage for apparently ineligible A2H clients was much lower (19.9%).
- 55.7% of food stamp recipients and 53.9% of apparently eligible nonparticipants said they eat less than they should because they lack money to buy food; the comparable figure for the apparently ineligible respondents was 37.2%.
- Similar patterns are observed for the responses to the other questions.