Prof Laurito Awarded RIDGE Funding for Food Security Grant
Agustina Laurito, Assistant Professor in public administration, was awarded $50,000 of grant funding through the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Program at Tufts University and the University of Connecticut. The program focuses on economic research aimed at enhancing food security and dietary quality for low-income Americans through the nation's nutrition assistance programs.
SNAP, School Meals, and the Food Security of Multigenerational Households.
PI: Agustina Laurito, University of Illinois at Chicago
Project description: The number of multigenerational households (with three generations or grandparents and grandchildren only) has been increasing in the U.S., especially since the Great Recession. There is evidence that these households are more likely to experience food insecurity, though this is not always the case. Additional SNAP benefits, as well as other assistance programs, may be one reason why multigenerational households are not always more food insecure. Yet, there is little work documenting the food consumption and food purchasing patterns of these households, and how they use different food assistance programs. This project seeks to fill that gap. Specifically, it investigates the interplay between SNAP and school meals (SBP and NSLP) and whether and to what extent this interaction helps multigenerational households maintain food consumption throughout the SNAP month. This project also helps illuminate intra-household dynamics and how those affect the food security of different household members (adults, seniors, adolescents, and children). It uses the National Household Food Acquisitions and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS); a nationally representative survey that collects detailed food acquisitions and nutritional information for all members of a household for seven days.