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Abstract
Despite numerous formal and informal food assistance programs, food insecurity threatens millions of households in the U.S. Yet, little is known about households that transition into, and out of, food insecurity. This study used the 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine how changes in household vehicle ownership, unsecured debt, and disability were related to food insecurity over 12 months. Bivariate tests identified an association between household food insecurity and vehicle ownership, unsecured debt levels, and disability status. Findings from cross sectional multivariate models were consistent with extant literature; food insecurity was positively associated with disability and negatively associated with the number of vehicles and higher unsecured debt levels. Conditional fixed effects models identified a negative relationship between changes in the number of vehicles owned and food insecurity transitions, but no association between food insecurity transitions and changes in unsecured debt levels or disability status.