ABSTRACT
Pregnancy is a critical time period for supporting food security and maternal nutrition because of long-term potential impacts on the developing fetus. We conducted a pre-/post-analysis of pregnant WIC participants (n = 592) in San Francisco receiving $40/month of fruit and vegetable vouchers in addition to the standard WIC package. We compared pre-/post- changes to a comparison group of non-pregnant WIC participants (n = 108) receiving only the standard WIC package. We observed significant improvements in food security and mean daily frequency of total vegetables, combined fruits and vegetables, salad and non-fried potatoes (p < .05 for all comparisons).
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals at the City and County of San Francisco Department of Public Health for ongoing support and assistance throughout the project: Priti Rane, Director of Nutrition Services and WIC Director; Magdalene Louie, WIC program Coordinator; and Paula Jones, Director of Food Security.
Authorship
H.K.S. was responsible for study design. S.M. and M.A. participated in data collection. R.A.R conducted all data analysis. Each of the authors participated in data interpretation, drafting, and approval of the final manuscript.
Disclosure Statement
HKS founded EatSF. HKS, MA and SM are involved with EatSF’s ongoing operations.
Ethical Standards Disclosure
This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki. All procedures were approved by the University of California San Francisco’s Committee on Human Research. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Division of the California Department of Public Health exempted the study from additional approval by their Institutional Review Board.