The effect of Food Stamp Nutrition Education on the food insecurity of low-income women participants.

Objective: To determine the effect of Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) in Indiana on participants' food insecurity and food insufficiency.
Design: A single-blind randomized design. A randomized experimental group completed 5 FSNE lessons as an intervention between a pre- and posttest, whereas a control group completed a pre- and posttest without FSNE intervention.
Setting: Client homes and community locations in 24 Indiana counties.
Participants: Female head-of-household participants >or= 18 years old; n = 219.
Intervention: FSNE lessons targeting food insecurity and nutrition.
Main Outcome Measures: Dependent variables food insecurity and food insufficiency were quantified with the 6-item United States Household Food Security Scale and United States Department of Agriculture Food Insufficiency Question, respectively. The independent variable was the randomly assigned treatment group.
Analysis: Participants' characteristics were compared with chi-square analysis. Analyses of covariance models were constructed to find the effect of treatment group on food insecurity and food insufficiency. Significance indicated at P <or= .05.
Results: Food insecurity and food insufficiency in the experimental group compared with the control group were significantly improved (P = .03, P = .04, respectively).
Conclusions and Implications: FSNE was successful in improving participants' food insecurity and food insufficiency, indicating nutrition education is an appropriate intervention for food insecurity.