Food Stamp and Non-Food Stamp Program Participants Show Similarly Positive Change With Nutrition Education

Abstract

A retrospective study compared Food Stamp Program (FSP) and non-FSP participants on changes in dietary intake and food-related behaviors as a result of an educational intervention. Data were collected at preintervention and postintervention on 4121 low-income adults, using 24-hour recalls and a Food Behavior Checklist (FBC). Both FSP and non-FSP participants made significant improvements on assessed food groups, nutrients, and FBC items. Few differences were found on dietary change, but FSP participants made more improvement on 4 FBC items. Results indicate that nutrition education is similarly effective in improving dietary intake and food-related behaviors of FSP and non-FSP participants.