Food Consumption Patterns Part 2

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Annex 15: Child Snack Purchases and Use of Vitamins for Preganant Women
Those parents purchasing snacks for children do so frequently. Most respondents (53%) reported
purchasing snacks in the street for the children in the house (Table X). Another 9% said they
purchased snacks “sometimes”. Forty percent of those purchasing snacks for children said they
purchased them once or more every day (Table X). A similar number (55%) said they bought
snacks for their children in stores, with Parents who buy snack foods remain conscious of nutrition,
with 16% saying they purchased snacks in stores sometimes. Among those purchasing in the street,
the average frequency was 1.4 times per day. Among those purchasing daily in stores, the average
frequency was 1.6 purchases per day. Thirty-four percent of these parents make these purchases
once or more per day. Parents purchasing snacks remain conscious of nutrition, with 97% saying
they would pay for more expensive cookies if they had more
vitamins than cheaper ones.
Table A15-1: Frequency of snack purchases for children
In Street
Frequency
(n=282) In Store (n=318)
More than once per 12% 11%
day
Every day 28% 23%
2-3 times per week 28% 27%
Every week 18% 21%
Every 2 to 3 weeks 10% 15%
Once per month 4% 3%
Less than monthly 1% 0%
Only 129 respondents reported that children in the household
sometimes purchased snacks on their own, with 69% of those
respondents saying the children buy snacks once or more per
Table A15-2: Children who
get snack money for school
(n=449)
All the time 21%
Most of time 11%
Sometimes 28%
No 35%
Do not know 5%
Table 15-3: Children
spending snack money all
at once
All the time 12%
Most of the time 12%
Sometimes 35%
No 11%
Do not know 30%
day, and 17 % saying 2-3 times per week. Nevertheless, a larger group (266 of 449 for whom the
question was relevant) reported giving money to children for snacks when they go to school –
32% reported that children get snack money all or most of the time, with another 28% ( Table
X). In only 35% of those cases did all of the children of the household get the same amount of
money. The average received by the child receiving the least was 26.5 Haitian gourdes (US $
0.58). A little more than half spend all of the money at once at least some of the time, although
only 12% spend everything all of the time, and another 12% do so most of the time (Table Y).