| Title: |
Program Evaluation: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution in Rural Areas of Central Pennsylvania. |
| Authors: |
Madden J. Patrick; Yoder, Marion D.; Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
166 |
| Publication Date: |
1971 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. |
| Descriptors: |
Dietetics; Eating Habits; Economic Research; Federal Programs; Low Income Groups; Models; Nutrition; Nutrition Instruction; Poverty; Research Needs; Rural Population; Statistical Analysis; Tables (Data) |
| Geographic Terms: |
Pennsylvania |
| Abstract: |
Since one primary goal of the Commodity Distribution (CD) Program and the Food Stamp (FS) Program is to improve diets of low-income families, this 1969-70 study focused on whether the adequacy of a low-income family's dietary intake was improved by their participation in a food-assistance program. As stated, the adequacy of a family's dietary intake is influenced by a wide range of factors, which may be classified under 2 major categories: (1) the family's food-purchasing power and (2) the efficiency with which the food resources are utilized. Thus, data on these factors were obtained from more than 1000 repeated interviews of rural homemakers and were subjected to multivariate analysis. Some of the main conclusions were that low-income families were most deficient in vitamin A and calcium, and were least deficient in phosphorus and protein; CD families had no better diets than non-CD families; the FS provided some improvement in diets of families experiencing temporary fund shortages (e.g., more than 2 weeks since payday); when families had received some income within the past 2 weeks, the impact of FS was not significant; families receiving income at least once every 2 weeks had significantly more adequate diets than those who were similar in other respects but received income less often; FS families substituted a large proportion of their increase in food-purchasing power for expenditures other than food; and families did not use their increased purchasing power to obtain foods that would provide the nutrients most deficient in the family's diet. (JB) |
| Entry Date: |
1971 |
| Accession Number: |
ED053857 |
| Database: |
ERIC |