New Study Compares Food Insecurity in Veteran and Non-Veteran Households

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2015

Contact
Rebecca Grossfield
Boston University School of Social Work
Phone: 617-358-5149
Email: rebdg@bu.edu

Feeding Our Veterans: New Study Compares Food Insecurity in Veteran and Non-Veteran Households

In the first study to use nationally representative data, three BUSSW professors set out to analyze rates of food insecurity in veteran and nonveteran households.

(Boston, MA) In Food Insecurity in Veteran Households: Findings from Nationally Representative Data, published in Public Health Nutrition, BUSSW professor Daniel P. Miller, Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management professor Mary Jo Larson, and BUSSW professors Thomas Byrne and Ellen DeVoe compared rates of food insecurity among households with veterans of the US armed forces and those with nonveterans. The study is the first of its kind to use nationally representative data.

Using data from the 2005-2013 waves of the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, the authors first made basic comparisons between veteran and non-veteran households, finding that rates of food insecurity were significantly lower in veteran homes (8.4% vs. 14.4%), a stark contrast with previous research, which has tended to report higher rates of food insecurity among veterans. After controlling for sociodemographic factors and other characteristics that might differ between veteran and non-veteran households, the average rates of food insecurity between the two groups were nearly identical (13.5% vs. 13.3%).

However, when the researchers separated veterans by their most recent period of military service, they found that some recent veterans were at an increased risk. In particular, those who served from 1990–2001 or 1975–1990 had a significantly higher probability of food insecurity (14.8% and 14.1%) compared to nonveteran households. Why? A variety of factors may be at play, including (1) differences in the composition of recent groups of veterans coinciding with the onset of an all-volunteer force; (2) a lifetime of accumulated advantages from benefits like the GI Bill and mortgage and healthcare programs for older veterans; (3) the challenge of re-entry for recent veterans returning during a difficult economic climate; and (4) recent variations in the length of combat rotations. Given the apparent susceptibility of some recent veterans, more-targeted outreach may help improve nutritional outcomes according to Professor Miller.

About Boston University School of Social Work
With roots dating back to 1918, Boston University School of Social Work’s (BUSSW) mission is to develop dynamic and diverse social work practitioners, leaders, and scholars through rigorous teaching, innovative research, and transformative community engagement. BUSSW offers graduate programs in clinical and macro social work practice.