摘要：Background: Food aid programs are strategies that aim to improve nutritional status and totackle food insecurity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a National Food SupplementaryProgram for Children on households’ food security. Methods: The study sample included 359 mothers of children aged 6–72 months under thecoverage of the program in two provinces of Iran. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristicsof the households and percentage of supplementary food items consumed by target child wereassessed by a questionnaire and checklist. Data on household food security were collectedby locally adapted Household Food Insecurity Access Scale at the baseline of the study and6 months thereafter. Results: At the baseline, only 4.7% of families were food secure, while 43.5% were severelyfood insecure, and these proportions were changed to 7.9% and 38%, respectively (P Food sharing was common among more than 95% of the studied households. Mean maternalbody mass index (BMI) increased significantly after 6 months (P 0.05). Conclusions: Findings show that the food supplementary program for children can also improvethe household food security status. Further research is needed to assess other factors that affectthe effectiveness of this kind of programs.
关键词：FOOD SECURITY; FOOD SUPPLEMENTARY PROGRAM; IRAN; NUTRITIONAL STATUS
