(P13-056-24) Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among US Children Aged 1–5 Years Old and Associations With Food Assistance Program Participation and Food Sufficiency, 2021–2022

Objectives: To examine fruit and vegetable intake among children aged 1-5 years old and associations with household food assistance program (FAP) participation and food sufficiency.

Methods: We used data from the 2021-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (n=36,641). We defined FAP as participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and food sufficiency as ability to afford needed food during the past 12 months. Separate logistic regression models estimated the associations between FAP (vs. income eligible [≤185% federal poverty level] or income ineligible [≥186% federal poverty level] nonparticipants), food sufficiency (vs. marginal/low food sufficiency) and (1) daily fruit intake [does not include fruit juice] and (2) daily vegetable intake [not including French fries, fried potatoes, or potato chips] after adjusting for child age, child race/ethnicity, maternal age, primary caregiver education level, and primary household language.

Results: Caregivers report that 68% and 51% of children ate a fruit or vegetable at least daily in the last week, respectively; 29% of households participated in WIC or SNAP; and 72% of households were food sufficient. Caregivers from households with FAP participation reported 59% of children ate a daily fruit vs. 63% in eligible nonparticipating households and 73% in ineligible nonparticipating households; the respective daily vegetable intake was 45%, 52%, and 54%. Caregivers from food sufficient households reported 71% of children ate a daily fruit vs. 60% in food insufficient; 53% ate a daily vegetable vs. 47%, respectively. In adjusted analyses, FAP participation was not associated with either daily fruit or vegetable intake, whereas household food sufficiency was: food insufficient households were less likely to report daily fruit (odds ratio: 0.76 [95% CI: 0.67, 0.87]) or vegetable (0.87 [0.77, 0.97]) intake compared with food sufficient households.

Conclusions: Food sufficiency appears to be a stronger predictor of daily fruit and vegetable intake than FAP participation. Increasing food sufficiency could improve fruit and vegetables intakes in early childhood.

Funding Sources: This study used publicly available data.