(P24-29-26) A Scoping Review to Promote Food Security: An Examination of Coping Strategies in Food Insecure Households With Children

Objectives: Food insecurity occurs when household members experience a change in their diets due to limited resources. Compared with all households, food insecurity is more prevalent among those with children, affecting 18 percent in 2023. In approximately half of those, the children did not directly experience food insecurity, indicating that coping strategies may help prevent this situation by limiting changes to their quality and quantity of diet, although a comprehensive review of these techniques is unknown. This scoping review aimed to summarize the coping strategies used by food insecure households with children in the U.S. and provide insights for interventions that may improve food security.

Methods: This scoping review is reported according to the PRISMA-ScR Checklist. PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO were searched up to January 2026 for eligible studies among low-income U.S. households with children that addressed coping strategies to manage food insecurity. Articles were screened for eligibility in Covidence by two independent reviewers through title/abstract and full text stages. Given any conflicts, reviewers engaged in a discussion to reach a consensus. Study results and key themes were extracted and synthesized narratively regarding coping strategies to manage food security status.

Results: A total of 25 studies were included, and five key themes were identified: food acquisition strategies, food management strategies, financial coping strategies, reliance on support from family members or friends, and strategies implemented by children. Most studies focused on coping strategies used by mothers and parents, while others examined strategies used by the entire household or by children. Participant-reported effective coping strategies included the use of federal nutrition assistance programs, reliance on family members, and purchase of low-cost foods.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that several members of food insecure households with children utilize coping strategies to manage food security, with several reported as effective. These insights may be valuable for informing future nutrition education interventions by promoting positive approaches that adults in low-income households reported as effective in managing food insecurity.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.