The Effect of Food Stamp Nutrition Education on the Food Insecurity of Low-income Women Participants

Objective: To determine the effect of Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) in Indiana on participants food insecurity and food insufficiency. Design: A single-blind randomized design. A randomized experimental group completed 5 FSNE lessons as an intervention between a pre- and postest, whereas a control group completed a pre- and posttest with-out FSNE intervention. Setting: Client homes and community locations in 24 Indiana countries. Participants: Female head-of-household participants >= 18 years old; n = 219. Intervention: FSNE lessons targeting food insecurity and nutrition. Main Outcome Measures: Dependent variables food insecurity and food insufficiency were quantified with the 6-item United States Household Food Security Scale and United States Department of Agriculture Food Insufficiency Question, respectively. The independent variable was the randomly assigned treatment group. Analysis: Participants' characteristics were compared with chi-square analysis. Analysis of covariance models were constructed to find the effect of treatment group on food insecurity and food insufficiency Significance induced at P <= .05. Results: Food insecurity and food insufficiency in the experimental group compared with the control group were significantly improved (p = 0.3, P = 0.04, respectively). Conclusion and Implications: FSNE was successful in improving participants food insecurity and food insufficiency, indicating nutrition education is an appropriate intervention for food insecurity.