AVAILABILITY OF FRESH PRODUCE AND ABILITY TO SHOP AND PREPARE MEALS
Having food in the home is no guarantee that individuals would be able to
prepare and cook a healthy meal. This is particularly true for the preparation
and cooking of produce, as it takes additional effort and time. In order to
evaluate whether individuals who had produce in the home would be able
to prepare that food, subgroup analyses were performed among individuals
who had fresh produce in the home (n ¼ 498).
The number of different varieties of fruit and vegetables in the home
were counted and added to form a score. Fourteen participants did not have
any fruit and vegetables in the home and the data of these participants were
excluded from the subgroup analysis.
A matrix was developed to examine characteristics of individuals with
varying abilities to shop and prepare meals. Individuals who had some or
no difficulty with shopping and had some or no difficulty preparing meals
were designated as ‘‘able to both shop and prepare meals’’ (n ¼ 111). Participants
who reported being unable or who had a lot of difficulty in both
shopping and preparing meals, were classified as ‘‘unable to shop and prepare
meals’’ (n ¼ 172). The remaining participants were categorized as
‘‘either not able to shop or not able to prepare meals’’
(Non-Hispanic Whites, Non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics). Two individuals
of American Indian=Alaska Native heritage were combined with the
Non-Hispanic Black group. Educational attainment was grouped into less
than 12th grade versus 12th grade education or more; annual income was
grouped into those making less than $20,000 versus more; living arrangement
was grouped as living alone versus living with a spouse or others.