Food insecurity: Comparing odds between working-age veterans and nonveterans with children

Kamdar, N., Lester, H. F., Daundasekara, S. S., Greer, A. E., Hundt, N. E., Utech, A., & Hernandez, D. C. (2021). Food insecurity: Comparing odds between working-age veterans and nonveterans with children. Nursing Outlook, 69(2), 212-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.08.011

Food insecurity is defined as inadequate access to food due to economic constraints. The different severities of food insecurity include low food security (i.e., reduced food quality) and very low food security (i.e., reduced food quality and reduced food consumption). This study compared the experiences of food insecurity between Veterans (n=155) and civilians (n=310) and explored the association between depressive symptoms and food insecurity. Veterans’ and civilians’ demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, education, income to poverty ratio) were matched, allowing for comparison between similar groups. Overall, rates of food insecurity were similar for Veterans and civilians; however, Veterans were more likely to experience very low food security. Compared to civilians, Veterans who reported more depressive symptoms also had higher odds of reporting very low food security.

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