Evaluation of United States Department of Agriculture-sponsored consumer materials addressing food security

Purpose. Food insecurity in the United States is a major public health issue. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the availability and quality of printed materials addressing food security targeted to special populations by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Design. Nutrition education resources addressing food security available from USDA websites were selected for analysis. Setting. Not applicable. Participants. The review team consisted of project staff (n = 6), two of who were fluent in Spanish. Method. Selection criteria were established to identify the food-security materials, and a group of reviewers assessed the quality of each publication both quantitatively and qualitatively. A consensus meeting among the reviewers was held to make final determinations of the quality of the materials. The quantitative data analysis consisted of basic descriptive statistics. Results. Among the 27 materials initially identified, 20 were either irrelevant or of low relevance to food security. Moreover, very few of them were intended for minority populations. The quality of most of the materials ranged from "average" to "good." Some of the major weaknesses include readability level, lack of cultural relevance, and inadequate coverage of food insecurity. Conclusion. Very few materials on food insecurity are of high quality. In the development of such materials, emphasis should be given to the readability level, content, and cultural relevance.