Household Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation is Associated With Higher Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Objective: Examine whether differences were present by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation in dietary patterns, achievement of dietary recommendations, and food security for children (aged 7-18 years) receiving free/reduced-price school meals. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Caregiver-child dyads at a pediatric clinic completed validated surveys. Food security, dietary patterns, and achievement of dietary recommendations were compared between child SNAP participants/nonparticipants. Results: Among 205 caregivers, 128 (62.4%) reported SNAP participation. Percentages of child SNAP participants/nonparticipants meeting recommendations were largely nonsignificantly different and over-whelmingly low. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants reported higher mean daily servings of vegetables (P = 0.01) and fruits (P = 0.01) than nonparticipants. Caregiver-reported household food security was not significantly different between SNAP participants and nonparticipants (P = 0.44). Conclusions and Implications: In this study, child-reported fruit/vegetable intakes were significantly higher among SNAP participants than nonparticipants, suggesting child SNAP participants may experience small but noteworthy benefits related to fruit/vegetable consumption. Additional supports are needed to achieve dietary recommendations.

Automated summary

The study found that children participating in SNAP did not significantly differ from nonparticipants in terms of meeting dietary recommendations, but they had significantly higher intake of vegetables and fruits. Household food security levels did not significantly differ between SNAP participants and nonparticipants.