Section 15.4.1

15.4.1 - Urban/Metropolitan Status and Child Food Security Questions

Metropolitan Status and Food Security. Table 15.4.1 tabulates answers to three child-related food security questions by metropolitan status. For all three questions, the answer placed first in the table is the one that indicates a relatively lower status on the food security scale.

Overall, there is a consistent tendency in this population for children in nonmetropolitan areas to be moderately more food secure than households in either of the two metropolitan categories.

Table 15.4.1

URBAN METROPOLITAN STATUS AND CHILD FOOD SECURITY QUESTIONS
Urban Metropolitan Status

	All Client Households with One or More Children Younger than Age 18	Center City	Metro, not Center City	Nonmetro
Child did not eat enough because not enough money¹
Often true	5.0%	5.2%	5.4%	3.5%
Sometimes true	21.4%	20.8%	22.8%	19.5%
Never true	73.6%	74.0%	71.8%	77.0%
TOTAL	100%	100%	100%	100%
SAMPLE SIZE (N)	11,341	5,140	3,870	2,331
Child skipped meals because there was not enough money¹
Yes	12.5%	13.5%	12.8%	8.6%
No	87.5%	86.5%	87.2%	91.4%
TOTAL	100%	100%	100%	100%
SAMPLE SIZE (N)	11,322	5,140	3,862	2,320
Child went hungry because there was not enough money²
Yes	15.0%	15.6%	16.0%	10.9%
No	85.0%	84.4%	84.0%	89.1%
TOTAL	100%	100%	100%	100%
SAMPLE SIZE (N)	11,272	5,123	3,837	2,312

Notes
Item nonresponses to all variables involved were excluded in calculating percentages and sample sizes.

1. Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 4) at the 1% level.

2. Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 2) at the 1% level.

Findings presented in Table 15.4.1 include:

26.0% of the households served in center city areas, 28.2% of the households served in suburban areas (metropolitan areas outside center cities), and 23.0% of the households served in nonmetropolitan areas answered that their children often or sometimes did not eat enough during the past year because there was not enough money to buy more food.
13.5% of the households served in center city areas, 12.8% of the households served in suburban areas (metropolitan areas outside center cities), and 8.6% of the households served in nonmetropolitan areas provided an affirmative answer to whether their children skipped a meal during the past year because there was not enough money to buy more food.
15.6% of the households served in center city areas, 16.0% of the households served in suburban areas (metropolitan areas outside center cities), and 10.9% of the households served in nonmetropolitan areas answered that their children, often or sometimes, did not eat enough during the past year because there was not enough money to buy more food.

The above results are supported in Table 15.4.2 by an analysis of the numbers of affirmative answers given in the three questions.