Study Shows How Food-Bank Clients Afford Basic Non-Food Items

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130925152102.htm

Sep. 25, 2013 — Many families struggle to afford basic non-food household goods, such as personal care, household, and baby-care products, according to a new nationwide Feed America study that benefited from assistance from the University of Illinois Family Resiliency Center (FRC).

“The study found that these families often make trade-offs with other living expenses and employ coping strategies in an effort to secure such essential household items as toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, or disposable diapers,” said Barbara H. Fiese, FRC director and Pampered Chef Endowed Chair.

The study revealed that one in three low-income families had a hard time affording basic household necessities in the past year. Of these families, 82 percent live in households with low or very low food security, meaning they cannot afford enough food to feed their family, she added.

“What’s more, nearly three in four low-income families have cut back on food in the past year in order to afford essential non-food items,” she said.

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