Are You Getting Enough to Eat? Addressing Food Insecurity in Rehabilitation Clients

Food insecurity is a well-known risk factor for poor health and quality-of-life outcomes. Recent explorations of census data have concluded that it is experienced disproportionately by individuals with disabilities, making it an important area of focus for rehabilitation counseling and research. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between food insecurity and work barriers and intrapersonal characteristics that are often the focus of rehabilitation counseling. Findings from a national sample of adults with disabilities (N = 435) reveal that individuals with less than a bachelor’s degree or in a household earning less than $40,000 per year were more likely to report high food insecurity. In addition, food insecurity correlated with unfavorable outcomes in measures of self-reported health, depression, social support, acceptance of chronic illness and disability (CID), and vocational self-efficacy. Implications are presented for increasing attention to the issue of food insecurity within the context of rehabilitation counseling practice and research, including strategies for augmenting services to include food assistance in a way that is sensitive to the experience of individuals with significant resource gaps.