The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of food stamps on the food security and nutritional status of low-income children. Subjects will be recruited through the three primary health care clinics in Hartford. The sample will consist of one hundred low-income preschoolers enrolled in WIC who live in households that receive foodstamps (n=50) or do not receive food stamps (n=50). Both groups will be matched for gender, age, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. The primary caretakers will be asked to respond to a survey instrument that collects data on the child's: a) dietary intake, b) infant feeding practices (retrospective), c) anthropometry, d) food assistance and food security situation, e) food insecurity and child hunger, f) food purchasing, and g) health. Blood iron status will be assessed in a sub-sample of 50 children (25 from each group). It is hypothesized that food stamps buffer the negative impact of poverty on child nutritional and health status.
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