3-115 - Food Insecurity And Family And Child Wellbeing: What Explains Effects And What Role Does Food Assistance Play?

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Food insecurity and the food assistance programs designed to reduce it are currently occupying center stage in national policy conversations. On one end, food insecurity – particularly among households with young children – has recently been recognized as a public health crisis: nearly 1 out of every 4 households with young children has experienced food insecurity. At the same time, there are active policy debates about the future of the U.S. food safety net, including the implementation of stricter eligibility requirements, which could reduce the number of children and families served. The proposed panel will inform these contemporary conversations by bringing new evidence on the potential impacts of food insecurity on family and child wellbeing, alongside evidence of the role of food assistance receipt for ameliorating these negative outcomes.

The first 2 papers focus on food insecurity and its negative impacts on families, parenting processes, and children. The second 2 papers examine policy solutions designed to prevent hunger and food insecurity, focusing on the two key programs that constitute the food safety net for families with young children: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Findings from these papers will highlight the implications of altering food assistance programs. Given the breadth of these papers and their timeliness in light of current policy debates around modifying food assistance programs, a lively question-and-answer session is expected. Dr. Barbara Fiese, a national expert on food insecurity and its impacts, will moderate the discussion.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Barbara Fiese, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Individual Presentations

• Understanding Associations Between Food Insecurity And Family And Child Wellbeing - Presenting Author: Anna Johnson, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: anna markowitz, University of Virginia

• Adult Food Insecurity, Children’s Developmental Outcomes and Parenting Stress - Presenting Author: Kevin Gee, University of California, Davis; Non-Presenting Author: Minhail Asim, University of California, Davis

• Within-Month Variability in Adolescents’ Self-Reported Daily Food Insecurity: Comparing SNAP Recipients and Non-Recipients - Presenting Author: Anna Gassman-Pines, Duke University; Non-Presenting Author: William Copeland, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Rick Hoyle, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University; Non-Presenting Author: Candice L. Odgers, University of California, Irvine

• Early Childhood WIC Use and Children’s School Readiness - Presenting Author: Caitlin Hines, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: Rebecca M. Ryan, Georgetown University