Carrie L. Draper

Review and Analysis of the Benefits, Purposes, and Motivations Associated with Community Gardening in the United States

Community gardens have been a part of modern American culture since the late 19th century. Participation in community gardening has ebbed and flowed in response to changing socioeconomic conditions, and thus the current economic recession has reheightened public interest. In a review of the scholarly literature from 1999 to 2010, rigorous quantitative research studies on the effects of community gardens are found to be sparse; however, a larger body of qualitative data is available. Eleven themes related to the purposes, benefits of, and motivations for participating in community gardens are identified. Community gardens can serve as an effective tool for community-based practitioners in carrying out their roles within the arenas of organizing, development, and change.

Development and Validation of a Child Report Assessment of Child Food Insecurity and Comparison to Parent Report Assessment

Child food insecurity (CFI) is typically assessed using parental report of child experiences, which works well for assessing food insecurity but may be inadequate for assessing childrens experiences of the household food environment. This study used mixed methods to develop and validate a child report assessment of CFI, comparing the accuracy of child versus parent report. Children reported their food insecurity with high accuracy in 4 of 6 domains; parent reports were inaccurate, missing nearly half of the children experiencing hunger. Parent report may accurately reflect household food insecurity, but child report should be used to assess childrens food-related needs.

Resilience and Hope: Identifying Trajectories and Contexts of Household Food Insecurity

Household food insecurity occurs in the context of families’ experiences of difficult life events. Using the family adaptation and adjustment response model and elements of life course theory, we analyzed 14 in-depth interviews to determine the types of events that families experience, what demands and capabilities the families possess, and how they incorporate meanings into the formation of individual and family identities in the face life events and food insecurity. Commonly cited demands dealt with family issues, health, and employment. Commonly cited capabilities were family support, employment, job training, and assistance programs. Meanings within the context of individual and family identity centered around stress appraisal, religious perspectives, and meanings of food.

Child hunger from a family resilience perspective

ABSTRACT Eliminating food insecurity among children is a priority in the US, and research that focuses on the resilience and agency of families can help refocus our programs and policies. The Midlands Family Study was a cross-sectional study including 544 families that were food secure, food insecure, or experiencing food insecurity with child hunger that completed a survey interview between March 2012 and May 2013. Using the Family, Adjustment, Adaptation, and Response theory as our guide and multinomial logistic regression analyses, we found that negative life events, economic capabilities (income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit levels), and social capabilities (support) were associated with food security status. For every additional

Stretching Food and Being Creative: Caregiver Responses to Child Food Insecurity

100 of income or SNAP benefits, the odds of the family having a child that experienced hunger in the past year were reduced by 6% and 9%, respectively. The results suggest families dealing with negative life events with inadequate income and social support are particularly vulnerable to child hunger. We did not find evidence to support that changing attitudes, strengthening faith, or reducing already low financial obligations affected food security status.

Recruitment Strategies and Participation in a Study of Childhood Hunger

Objective: To examine the strategies and behaviors caregivers use to manage the household food supply when their children experience food insecurity as measured by the US Department of Agricultures Household Food Security Survey Module. Design: Cross‐sectional survey with open‐ended questions collected in person. Setting: Urban and nonurban areas, South Carolina, US. Participants: Caregivers who reported food insecurity among their children (n = 746). Phenomenon of Interest: Strategies and behaviors used to manage the household food supply. Analysis: Emergent and thematic qualitative coding of open‐ended responses. Results: The top 3 strategies and behaviors to change meals were (1) changes in foods purchased or obtained for the household, (2) monetary and shopping strategies, and (3) adaptations in home preparation. The most frequently mentioned foods that were decreased were protein foods (eg, meat, eggs, beans), fruits, and vegetables. The most frequently mentioned foods that were increased were grains and starches (eg, noodles), protein foods (eg, beans, hot dogs), and mixed foods (eg, sandwiches). Conclusions and Implications: Caregivers use a wide variety of strategies and behaviors to manage the household food supply when their children are food insecure. Future work should examine how these strategies might affect dietary quality and well‐being of food‐insecure children.

Perceived and geographic food access and food security status among households with children.

ABSTRACT Food insecurity affects one fifth of U.S. households with children and tends to be associated with low income, minority race/ethnicity, and low educational attainment—difficult groups to recruit to population-based studies. We present successful recruitment strategies and participation data after enrolling 544 participants encompassing 3 food security categories from 4 types of food venues throughout South Carolina. Eligible persons were most likely to participate if they had lower food security, lived in an urban area, and were recruited over the phone. In multivariate logistic models, participation predictors were screening mode and recruitment site, with the highest yield at family-oriented emergency food assistance sites.