Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Low income households, community food security organizations in North Alabama Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations to professional meetings Workshops and publications in professional journals What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Dissermination of project findings and working on extending the research
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period, the food security status of selected low-income households and their participation in food security programs were examined using logit models and data collected through a telephone survey. Also, the factors that predict their participation in public and private/community-based food security programs were evaluated. The descriptive results showed that out of the 679 low-income households who completed the questionnaire, 21 percent were characterized as being food insecure. Six logit models were estimated representing the SNAP program (Model 1), WIC program (Model 2) School operated programs: school lunch program, summer feeding programs or school breakfast programs (Model 3) and community/private operated food security programs: food banks (Model 4), food pantries (Model 5) and community gardens (Model 6). The logit model was employed to identify factors that predicted participation in food security programs. Before fitting the model, it was essential to check whether severe multicollinearity problems and association exist among explanatory variables. For this purpose, variance inflation factor and contingency coefficient tests were used for continuous and discrete variables, respectively. Based on the logit model results, ethnicity appears capable of influencing low-income households' decision to participate in public-funded food security programs. The variable reveals a strong relationship between ethnicity (African American) and household participation in all three public-funded food security programs. In Model 1 (SNAP), the expected odd ratio of ethnicity is equal to 2.2, which indicates that low-income households headed by African Americans have a 2.2 times chance to participate in SNAP compared to low-income White-headed households. Model 2 (WIC program) and Model 3 (SCHOOL-operated programs) yield similar results, suggesting that the odds of participating in public-funded food security programs (WIC and SCHOOL) are higher among African American headed households compared to White-headed households. Education is another significant predictor of households' participation, but only in Model 3 (SCHOOL-operated programs). The expected odds ratio of education is equal to 2.8, which implies that less educated (high school or lower) households have a 2.8 times chance to utilize school-operated food security programs (national school lunch, summer feeding, and school breakfast program) than households headed by individuals with more than high school education. The results are supported by previous studies. For instance, Biggerstaff et al. (2002) identified age (under 18 years), single parent, low education, minority, gender (being a woman), and being unemployed as predictor variables for participation in public-funded food security programs. Smith et al. (2016) reported that those more likely to participate in government programs, such as SNAP, included non-Hispanic Blacks and less educated. While the other variables (gender, marital status, household size, and income) in the models carry the expected signs, they are not significant predictors of households' participation in public-funded food security programs, among the studied sample. Thus, the results for a sample of low-income food insecure households in North Alabama reveals that ethnicity and education are critical predictors of whether a household will participate in public-funded food security programs, such as SNAP. For Models 4 and 5, the sign for the estimated coefficient for the ethnicity variable is contrary to the positive effect observed in the public-funded food security models. Furthermore, the coefficient for ethnicity is statistically significant only in the food bank model (Model 4), with an expected odd ratio equal to 0.29. Although too small in magnitude, the result suggests that there is a 0.29 times chance of low-income households headed by African Americans not utilizing food banks in addressing their food insecurity situation compared to their White counterparts. Marital status is another significant predictor of household participation across the three private/community-based food security programs. The expected odd ratios of marital status (being divorced) are equal to 3.2, 2.1 and 2.2 in Model 4 (Food Banks), Model 5 (Pantries) and Model 6 (Community Gardens), respectively. The results suggest that low-income households headed by someone divorced/separated have a3.2 times chance to utilize food banks, 2.1 times chance to use food pantries, and 2.2 times chance to utilize community gardens in addressing their food insecurity situations compared to households with the married couple. Household size also appears to be a significant predictor of participation, but only in Model 5 (Food Pantry). The expected odds ratio of household size is equal to 1.2, suggesting that, households with two or more members have a1.2 times chance to utilize food pantries to address their food insecurity situation compared to households with one member. In support of this result, Cohen et al. (2015) have indicated that most households visiting food pantries are small--with the average client household sizebeing 2.7 persons. Previous studies have also reported that the participation rate in food assistance programs is influenced by gender. Generally, women are more likely to participate in food security programs than men, and this finding was supported by the food bank model (Model 4). Although small in magnitude, the expected odd ratio of gender is equal to 0.35, indicating that, female-headed households have a0.35 times chance to utilize food banks to address household food insecurity situation compared to households headed by men. Income is another significant predictor of participation, but only in the food bank model. The expected odds ratio of income is equal to 3.2, indicating that, low-income households have a3.2 times chance to utilize food banks to address household food insecurity situation compared to households with higher income. Overall, the results across the private/community-based food security programs highlight the role that food banks play in helping low-income households in dealing with food insecurity issues. Food banks, utilized by 12% of low-income households in the sample, are indeed a valuable food resource. Notably, many people who use public-funded programs also used food banks. It is observed that 6.6% of the 12% of households that received SNAP benefits also used food banks in addressing their food insecurity situations. As others have noted, it is a clear indication of how private/community-based food security programs have helped to prevent even higher rates of hunger in America's low-income population by playing a valuable, complementary role to federal assistance programs.The results suggest that thus far, a significant response to household food insecurity in the study area has been local-level community-based initiatives, predominantly food banks, but also community-based food pantries and programs such as community gardens, aimed at enhancing food access.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Bukenya, O. James. 2019. Determinants of Food Resource Utilization among Low-Income Households in North Alabama. Journal of Applied Agricultural Economics and Policy Analysis. Vol. 2, No. 1: 8-15.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Bukenya O. James. 2019. Determinants of Food Resource Utilization among Low-Income Households in North Alabama. Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Association, Birmingham, Alabama (February 4, 2019).
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Low-income neighborhoods and community food security organizations. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at professional conferences What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To explore ways in which household and or community perceptions, decisions, actions, and routines are shaped in response to food resources and neighborhood contexts.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The factors that predict household participation in public and private/community-based food security programs were examined. Assessedthe overall participation of low-income households in food assistance programs. Information was generated that can be usedin formulating strategies to assist food assistance agencies in their quest to mitigate hunger, as well as, assist policy makers in designing appropriate strategies to curb food insecurity in the study area. The descriptive results showed that out of the 679 low-income households who successfully completed the questionnaire, 144 were characterized as being food insecure. The overall participation rate in food security programs among low-income households in the study was estimated at 21%--such low participation rate has been typical in previous studies. The logit model results revealed that, participation in food assistance programs among low-income households in North Alabama was strongly related to factors such as female headed households, living without spouse, low education levels and ethnicity, as well as enabling factors, such as low household income. The results suggest that thus far, a significant response to household food insecurity in the study area has been local-level community-based initiatives, predominantly food banks, but also community-based food pantries and programs such as, community gardens, aimed at enhancing food access
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bukenya O. James. 2018. The Importance of Ethnic Food Stores in Identifying Food Deserts: A Case Study of Huntsville, Alabama. Journal of Food Distribution Research. Vol. 49 (1): 56-62.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bukenya O. James and Kelvin Lule. 2018. Understanding the Realities of the Urban Poor and their Food Security Situation: A Case Study of the City of Huntsville, Alabama. Presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Association, Jacksonville, Florida (February 5, 2018).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Bukenya O. James. 2017. Can Community Gardens and Farmers Market Relive Food Deserts Problems? A Case Study of Huntsville, Alabama. Presented at the 75th Anniversary of the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC), Opelika Alabama (December 4, 2017).
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Low income neighborhoods in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The findings were shared with stakeholders to created awareness on the issue of food insecurity in the region and the areas in the Huntsville MSA where at-risk population live in relation to the related food resources. Aworking paper was developed andpresented at a professional conference (SAAS Annual Conference, Feb. 3-7, 2017) in Mobile Alabama. The findings were also presentedat the 1890 Association of Research Directors (ARD)2017 Research Symposium in Atlanta Georgia, April 1-4, 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Collect data and investigate theimportance of ethnic grocery stores in identifying food deserts in theHuntsville Metropolitan Area, Alabama
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Cleaned up andadministered the developed food security perception questionnaire tolow-income households in the Huntsville MSA. The questionnaire was administered in 14 low-income neighborhoods located in a cluster of census tracts defined as a food desert. These neighborhoods were chosen because they are typical in many ways of inner city communities in the southern United States. Their populations include a large proportion of minorities and female-headed households with incomes below the poverty line and high unemployment and crime rates, among other disparities. Within these neighborhoods, a three-stage cluster random sampling with probability proportion to size sampling technique was used to select a sample of 700 respondents. After cleaning the data for incomplete responses, the analyzed sample was reduced to 679 respondents. The collected data were analyzed and used to generate recommendations for addressing food insecurity in the study area. To assess the factors that are expected to influence food security status among the food insecure part of the sampled population, a tobit regression model was adopted and estimated. The findings reveal that food insecurity exists severely in the selected low-income neighborhoods of the Huntsville Metropolitan Area. The tobit model result revealed that household income; age, gender, and education of household head; and presence of children in the household were significant determinants of food insecurity among households acrossthe selected low-income neighborhoods in the Huntsville Metropolitan Statistical Area, Alabama.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
James O. Bukenya and Kelvin Lule (2017). Assessing the Relevance of Neighborhood Characteristics to the Household Food Security of Low-Income Families in North Alabama. Presented at the 1890 ARD Research Symposium, April 1-4, 2017 Atlanta Georgia.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
James O. Bukenya (2017). Determinants of Food Security in Huntsville, Alabama, Metropolitan Area. Journal of Food Distribution Research, Volume 48, Issue1, Page 73-80.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
James O. Bukenya (2017). Assessing the Relevance of Neighborhood Characteristics to Household Food Security Status in North Alabama. Presented at the Southern Rural Sociological Association's Annual Meeting in Mobile Alabama. February 6, 2017
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience: Low-income neighborhoods in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area North Alabama Food Policy Council Stakeholdres, including the City of Huntsville GIS Division and the Farmers Market Operators Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Trainning forsurvey enumarators ArcGIS Software tarining for project staff How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Presentation at professional Meetings. Focus group meeting with selected stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Plans are underway to administer the developedfood security perceptionquestionnaire to a sample of 1000 low-income households in the Huntsville MSA. Thecollected data will be analyzed and used to generate recommendationsfor addressing food insecurity in the study area.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Usedthe 2010 US Census data at the tract levelto characterize the neighborhood socio-demographic context. Identified areas within the Huntsville MSA that are at highest risk of food insecurity at the census tracts level using key social dimension risk factors: high unemployment, high poverty rates, minority status, lower education attainment, and household structure. Developed a population at-risk ranking - In this analysisneighborhoods were ranked based on an examination of each neighborhood's particular population mix of income and socioeconomic characteristics to determine the likelihood that a resident in a particular neighborhoodis food insecure. The focus of this ranking was to include variables that are known to affect household food security. Mappedcommunities within Huntsville MSA that are likely to face high levels of food insecurity. Developspatially organized geographical information system (GIS) of food resources necessary for addressing food insecurity using national andlocal sources, and field work.The database allows visualization and comparison of areas in the Huntsville MSA where at-risk population live in relation tothe related food resources. Engage key stakeholders to identify determinants of food insecurity within the study area. Developed instruments for collecting data. Pretested surveyquestionnaire developed to understand the social aspects of food justice and food security in low-income neigborhoods; andto understand how residents in these low-income communities think about options and make decisions concerning where they shop, what they buy and how they cook.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
1. Bukenya, J.O. 2016. Assessment of Community Food Security in the Huntsville MSA Using Spatial and Social Dimensions. Presented at the Southern Rural Sociological Association's Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. (February 5-9).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
2. Bukenya J.O. (2016). Using Social Dimensions to Map Community Food Insecurity in North Alabama. Poster Presented at the 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants Program Project Director Meeting. Virginia Beach, Virginia (Sept. 18-20).
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