CASH TRANSFERS, FOOD CONSUMPTION, AND NUTRITION 137
items increased both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total expendi- tures (Maluccio and Flores 2005, 32). Ethnographic case studies observed people’s resistance to consuming unfamiliar foods, however, revealing the difficulties of improving nutrition through “behavior change” components. Program volunteers sometimes organized fairs at which they prepared new foods (such as soy and less familiar vegetables), but the level of enthusiasm was low (Adato and Roopnaraine 2004). In Colombia, the increase in food consumption was proportional to the
increase in total consumption, implying that Familias en Acción did not change the food share among beneficiary households. However, despite the constant share of household budget allocated to food, the increase in protein consumption was proportionally greater than the increase in food consump- tion, representing an increase in the share of protein consumed (Attanasio and Mesnard 2006, 437). Consumption of meat and dairy increased by 19 percent, fats by 14.3 percent (urban) and 24 percent (rural), and grains by 9.3 percent (urban) and 16.7 percent (rural) (Attanasio and Gomez 2004, 2). These impacts did not appear to depend on program intensity or duration (Attanasio and Mesnard 2006, 438). There was no mention in the evaluation reports of any impact of the nutrition classes provided by the CCT. Results from an analysis of the impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Alimentação on
food consumption indicate that there was an increase in dietary diversity of approximately 9 percent. Using a relationship documented by Hoddinott and Yohannes in which a 1 percent increase in dietary diversity is associated with a 0.7 percent increase in per capita caloric availability, the authors expect that Bolsa Alimentação contributed to a 6 percent increase in per capita caloric availability and a 12 percent increase in caloric availability from healthier nonstaples (especially fruits and vegetables) (Olinto et al. 2003). In Mexico, PROGRESA spurred beneficiary households to consume more calories from vegetables and animal products than control households. Among households interviewed in both 1998 and 1999, there was a 36 percent increase in beneficiary households that reported eating chicken compared with a 19 percent increase in control households. There was less difference between beneficiary and control households in the consumption of staples and other commonly consumed foods (for example, tomatoes, onions, beans, and oil), suggesting that PROGRESA enhanced dietary diversity. Overall, dietary quality improved for beneficiaries through at least one of the following channels: an increase in the variety of foods consumed; an increase in the likelihood that a household consumed fruits, vegetables, or animal products; or an increase in calories acquired from these sources (Hoddinott, Skoufias, and Washburn 2000, 19, 21). There was some evidence that messages provided to women with preschool children in nutrition education sessions (pláticas) on such top-
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