Comparison of Emergency Preparedness Practices between Food Assistance Program Participants and Non-Participants in the United States

Gina J. Fung, Laura K. Jefferies, Michelle A. Lloyd Call, Dennis L. Eggett and Rickelle Richards
Additional contact information
Gina J. Fung: Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Laura K. Jefferies: Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Michelle A. Lloyd Call: Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Dennis L. Eggett: Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Rickelle Richards: Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Previous research has suggested many households are meeting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 3-day emergency food and water storage recommendations. The impact of limited economic household resources on emergency preparedness practices related to food and water is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to compare emergency preparedness practices in households participating in United States’ food assistance programs with households not participating in these programs. Methods: A convenience sample of adults ( n = 572) completed an online Qualtrics survey. Descriptive statistics, chi-square statistics, and independent t -tests were used to measure differences between households participating in food assistance programs vs. non-participating households. Results: Most households participating in food assistance programs felt prepared to provide household members with food and water during an emergency, which did not significantly differ from non-participating households. Households using food assistance programs had less accessible cash but had similar foods on-hand for an emergency compared to non-participating households. However, they more frequently reported having baby formula/food and less frequently reported having vitamin/mineral supplements compared to non-participating households. Conclusions: Food assistance programs may be effective in providing enough food and water to help low-income families be prepared for an emergency.

Keywords: emergency preparedness; food storage; water; low-income; food assistance programs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12937/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12937/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12937-:d:697675

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().