Household food security within the community of Choctaw, Oklahoma

Abstract

Background: Household food insecurity is an important public health problem globally. In the state of Oklahoma, 14.7% of households experience some level of food insecurity, with 13.3% of households experiencing food insecurity within the county of Oklahoma. Within the city of Choctaw, Oklahoma, several formal and informal food assistance programs exist. However, the awareness and utilization of these food assistance programs are unknown.

Objectives: This study estimated the prevalence of food insecurity within the city of Choctaw, Oklahoma, and explored the awareness and utilization of food assistance programs available in the community of Choctaw.

Methods: We conducted an online survey of residents of Choctaw, Oklahoma between December 2021 and April 2022. Residents of Choctaw, Oklahoma aged 18 years or older (n=120) were recruited through online social media posts and flyers posted to public spaces in the city. We collected data on household food insecurity using the USDA 6-Item Household Food Security Survey, and data on awareness and utilization of food assistance programs using a survey questionnaire.

Results: On average, participants were aged 43.9 +/- 14.9 years. 42% of participants were obese. The majority of participants were female (86%), White (91%), married or living with a partner (72%), and were employed full-time (66%). The prevalence of household food insecurity among our sample was 26.7% (11.67% low food secure, 15.00% very low food secure). The majority of participants (95%) reported awareness of at least one type of food assistance program offered to the community of Choctaw, including Community Food Pantries, Farmers to Families, School Lunch/Meal, SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC, and Meals on Wheels. Among participants who reported being aware of food assistance programs, only 47.9% utilize at least one type of resource; about 52% do not utilize any food assistance program. Among non-utilizers, reasons include having sufficient access to food hence no need (38.46%) and feeling like other people needed the food more (13.46%). Other less common reasons participants gave include embarrassment, fear that people might think less of them, and lack of knowledge of how the pantry works. Overall, awareness of food assistance programs did not differ between food secure and food insecure households (94.3% vs 93.8%, P=1.000). However, food insecure households were more likely to utilize food assistance programs compared to households who were food secure (75% vs 37.9%, P=0.0004). That said, approximately 25% of food insecure households reported not utilizing any food assistance program.

Conclusion: In the city of Choctaw, Oklahoma, one in 4 households experience some form of food insecurity. Food assistance programs do exist, and the majority of respondents are aware of them. However, utilization of these programs is somewhat low. Future studies should explore why these resources are not being utilized by some food insecure households to help inform strategies to minimize food insecurity.