Faculty Collaboration Database

High prevalence of food insecurity and hunger in households in the rural Lower Mississippi Delta. J Rural Health 2004;20(2):173-80

Date

04/17/2004

Pubmed ID

15085632

DOI

10.1111/j.1748-0361.2004.tb00025.x

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-12144289964 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   41 Citations

Abstract

CONTEXT: Residents of the Lower Mississippi Delta of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are at risk for food insecurity since a high proportion of the population live in households with incomes below the poverty level and have reduced access to food and decreased availability of a variety of foods. However, the magnitude of the problem is unknown because presently only nationwide and state estimates of food insecurity are available.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted by the Lower-Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Consortium to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity, identify high-risk subgroups in the Lower Delta, and compare to national data.

METHODS: A 2-stage stratified cluster sample representative of the population in 36 counties in the Lower Delta was selected using list-assisted random digit dialing telephone methodology. A cross-sectional telephone survey of 1662 households was conducted in 18 of the 36 counties using the US Food Security Survey Module.

FINDINGS: Twenty-one percent of Lower Delta households were food insecure, double the 2000 nationwide rate of 10.5%. Within the Lower Delta, groups with the highest rates of food insecurity were households with income below $15,000, black households, and households with children. The prevalence of hunger in Delta households with white children was 3.2% and in households with black children was 11.0%, compared to nationwide estimates of 0.3% and 1.6%.

CONCLUSIONS: The Lower Mississippi Delta is characterized by a high prevalence of food insecurity and hunger. Future efforts to identify the household and community determinants of food insecurity to reduce its high prevalence are indicated.

Author List

Stuff JE, Horton JA, Bogle ML, Connell C, Ryan D, Zaghloul S, Thornton A, Simpson P, Gossett J, Szeto K, Lower Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Consortium

Author

Pippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Arkansas
Child
Child, Preschool
Cluster Analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Food Supply
Humans
Louisiana
Male
Malnutrition
Middle Aged
Mississippi
Nutrition Surveys
Poverty
Prevalence
Public Assistance
Rural Health
Socioeconomic Factors