The Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Food Assistance Program Participation in Families of Preschool Children in the Rio Grande Valley

The South Texas Early Prevention Study-PreK, a cluster randomized trial, explored the Bienestar Coordinated School Health Program’s influence on health variables in South Texas children. Factors associated with food insecurity (FI) were analyzed. Income-to-poverty ratio, income, and food assistance (FA) program participation were all associated with FI. Forty percent of families (257/643) reporting FI did not utilize FA. Of those families with FI, but who reported no FA participation, 31.8% were FA eligible. Families experiencing FI may underutilize FA programs, despite eligibility. Curtailing obstacles preventing FA program participation and matching those who are eligible with FA programs are crucial.

南德克萨斯早期预防研究-学前教育阶段（South Texas Early Prevention Study-PreK）作为一项整群随机试验（cluster randomized trial），探究了Bienestar协调学校健康计划（Bienestar Coordinated School Health Program）对南德克萨斯儿童健康变量的影响。本研究分析了与粮食不安全（food insecurity）相关的各类因素：收入贫困比（income-to-poverty ratio）、家庭收入以及粮食援助计划（food assistance program, FA）的参与情况均与粮食不安全（FI）存在关联。在报告存在粮食不安全的家庭中，有40%（257/643）未使用FA计划；在这类存在粮食不安全但未参与FA计划的家庭中，有31.8%符合FA援助资格。尽管符合援助资格，面临粮食不安全的家庭仍可能未充分利用FA计划。因此，消除阻碍家庭参与FA计划的障碍，并将符合资格的人群与FA计划进行匹配，具有至关重要的意义。