title: Stretching Food and Being Creative: Caregiver Responses to Child Food Insecurity.
abstract: To examine the strategies and behaviors caregivers use to manage the household food supply when their children experience food insecurity as measured by the US Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional survey with open-ended questions collected in person.
  
  
  
  Urban and nonurban areas, South Carolina, US.
  
  
  
  Caregivers who reported food insecurity among their children (n = 746).
  
  
  
  Strategies and behaviors used to manage the household food supply.
  
  
  
  Emergent and thematic qualitative coding of open-ended responses.
  
  
  
  The top 3 strategies and behaviors to change meals were (1) changes in foods purchased or obtained for the household, (2) monetary and shopping strategies, and (3) adaptations in home preparation. The most frequently mentioned foods that were decreased were protein foods (eg, meat, eggs, beans), fruits, and vegetables. The most frequently mentioned foods that were increased were grains and starches (eg, noodles), protein foods (eg, beans, hot dogs), and mixed foods (eg, sandwiches).
  
  
  
  Caregivers use a wide variety of strategies and behaviors to manage the household food supply when their children are food insecure. Future work should examine how these strategies might affect dietary quality and well-being of food-insecure children.
authors.affiliation: US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Alexandria, VA; Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Lauren H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. Electronic address: ceblake@sc.edu.
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Younginer
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Carrie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Draper
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Bethany A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Liese
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Sonya J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics; D003405:Creativity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D062407:Meals; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013022:South Carolina; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture
keywords: children; food insecurity; household food management; hunger