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Methodology

A pre-tested, standardized, six page questionnaire, developed by The University of California Cooperative Extension's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), was used to survey emergency food providers and those receiving emergency food assistance. The interviewers were recruited by the member of the Hunger Study Group and were trained in interview techniques and in the use of the questionnaire.Thirty-two (32) of the major emergency food providers were interviewed in August and September of 1987.

Surveys were administered to 173 people receiving assistance from food closets and soup kitchens. A sampling technique, which considered location, size and type of service, was used to select the 17 emergency food provider sites where these interviews were conducted. Sixty-two (62) of the interviews were conducted at soup kitchens and shelters (programs which distribute grocery items or vouchers for purchasing groceries). Interviews of programs' participants were conducted in the months of March and April 1988.
Individuals to be interviewed were chosen at random at the program sites. Interviews were requested after the participants had received their meal or been given assistance. In all cases, people were informed that the interview was anonymous, that it would have no effect on any services or benefits they might receive, and that they were not required to participate or answer any questions they preferred not to answer. As needed, interviews were conducted in Spanish. Forty-one clients (41) refused to participate and, based on observation, no consistent pattern of age, sex, race or ethnicity was detected among those who refused.

It should be noted that one food site which was selected for interviews based on its service to Hispanic residents was closed at the time; therefore, no interviews were conducted at this site. The number of interviews to be administered at this site was 12, or 6% of the total number of surveys to be completed in this sampling. Thus, some under-representation from the perspective of the Hispanic population may exist in this report.

Completed questionnaires from both providers and recipients were entered into a computer program and the results were compiled and analyzed by EFNEP researchers at UC Berkeley. For the survey of those receiving assistance, the size of the sample and the sampling techniques were designed to obtain a representative picture of the families and individuals who request help from emergency food programs. It cannot be assumed that the results apply to other Sacramento County residents who may suffer chronic or episodic food shortages and do not seek assistance from food programs. In interpreting the data from the program participant survey, two different bases were used to calculate percentages reported: the number of cases and the total number of people the cases represent. Each of the 173 individuals interviewed represents a single case regardless of the size of the family unit. The total number of people, single individuals and total family members associated with the interviewed person, was 423.

In addition to emergency food providers and participants, the Hunger Study Group also surveyed public food programs, including WIC (Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants, Children), Food Stamps school meals, the Child Care Food Program (CCFP), and the Summer Food Program.

Notes:

The expression average. when used in this report (e.g., the average income), refers to the statistical mean (e.g., sum of incomes reported divided by the total number of cases reporting income). In a few instances, which are noted in the text, the statistical median was substituted for the mean when this figure better represented the "average" situation of the clients in the study. This was generally done in situations in which one or two extreme cases would distort the mean average. The median is calculated by determining the midpoint from which half of the cases fall above and half below.

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