A Cross-Sectional Study of Early Childhood Educators’ Childhood and Current Food Insecurity and Dietary Intake

ABSTRACT

In this cross-sectional study, early childhood educators (ECEs; N = 307) completed an 18-item survey regarding their role (lead vs. assistant), education level, program type, and current and childhood food insecurity (FI) and dietary intake. ECEs in this study reported poor dietary quality and a high rate of FI. Approximately one quarter of ECEs ate fruits and vegetables more than once per day. Of participating ECEs, 34.5% indicated current FI and 28.7% reported experiencing FI in childhood. Differences in prevalence of current FI were found for ECE role, program type, and education (all p ≤ 0.03). Regression models with childhood dietary intake, childhood FI, education, and program type as predictors accounted for a significant portion of variance in current dietary outcomes. In both models, childhood dietary intake was uniquely predictive (p < 0.001) although program type was not. Future training and education efforts for ECEs should consider including specific resources to assess and reduce ECE FI and provide practical support for healthy eating on a budget. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of ECE FI on a variety of educator and child outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Food insecurity
• early childhood educators
• Head Start
• modeling
• nutrition

Funding

This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant No. 2011-68001-30014 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project was also supported, in part, by the Translational Research Institute (TRI), grants UL1TR000039 and KL2TR000063, through the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant No. 2011-68001-30014 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project was also supported, in part, by the Translational Research Institute (TRI), grants UL1TR000039 and KL2TR000063, through the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.