Food insecurity and food preparation equipment in US households: exploratory results from a cross-sectional questionnaire

Background: Food waste and food insecurity may co-exist in various balances in developing and developed countries. This study aimed to explore the levels of food waste and food insecurity, the factors associated with them, and their relationships at the household and individual levels in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted via computer-assisted phone interviews in January 2021. Quota sampling was utilized to generate balanced distributions of participants by gender across all the administrative regions of Saudi Arabia. Data collection included household demographics, food waste and disposal, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Results: Out of the 2807 potential participants contacted, 2454 (87.4%) completed the interview. The mean age was 31.4 (SD = 11.7; range = 18–99) and 50.1% were female. The weighted prevalence of uncooked food waste in the last four weeks was 63.6% and the cooked food waste was 74.4%. However, the food insecurity weighted prevalence at the individual level (FIES) was 6.8%. In terms of food insecurity at the household level (HFIAS), 13.3% were in the “severely food insecure” category. Moreover, this study found that “moderately food insecure” households were associated with an increased likelihood to waste uncooked food (relative risk (RR) = 1.25), and the “mildly food insecure” (RR = 1.21) and “moderately food insecure” (RR = 1.17) households were associated with an increased likelihood to waste cooked food. However, “food secure” households were associated with a decreased likelihood to waste cooked food (RR = 0.56). Finally, this study identified four household factors associated with food waste and three household factors that were associated with “severe food insecurity.” Conclusions: This first national coverage study to explore food waste and food insecurity at the individual level and household level, identified household factors associated with food waste and food insecurity and identified new associations between food waste and food insecurity in Saudi Arabia. The associations found between food waste and food insecurity are potential areas of intervention to reduce both food waste and food insecurity at the same time, toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to food waste and food security.

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Characteristics associated with changes in food security status among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/ibaa110 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Soldavini ◽

Hazael Andrew ◽

Maureen Berner

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Online Survey ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Food Security Status ◽

The Usa ◽

Security Module ◽

Adult Food

Abstract The prevalence of food insecurity in the USA has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, past studies have not examined how the food security status of college students has been impacted. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the prevalence of food insecurity; determine the proportion of students experiencing a change in food security status; and identify characteristics associated with changes in food security status from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of college students. We administered a cross-sectional online survey to students from a large public university in the Southeastern USA. The 10-item U.S. Adult Food Security Module was used to assess food security status during the spring 2020 semester both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and students self-reported a variety of individual characteristics. The overall prevalence of food insecurity increased by approximately one-third during the spring 2020 semester from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. When examining the types of changes in food security status experienced by students, 12% improved, 68% stayed the same, and 20% worsened. A variety of characteristics were associated with an improvement or worsening of food security status category from before to during the pandemic. Similar to what is seen in other reports, we found that the overall proportion of college students in our sample experiencing food insecurity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, some students showed improvements in food security status. Approaches for addressing food insecurity during and beyond the pandemic are needed.

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Food insecurity and its association with changes in nutritional habits among adults during the COVID-19 confinement measures in Belgium

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980020005005 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Stefanie Vandevijvere ◽

Karin De Ridder ◽

Sabine Drieskens ◽

Rana Charafeddine ◽

Finaba Berete ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Soft Drink ◽

Household Composition ◽

Healthy Diet ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nutritional Habits ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Soft Drink Consumption ◽

Snack Consumption

Abstract Objective: To assess food insecurity and its association with changes in nutritional habits among Belgian adults during confinement due to COVID-19. Design: Three cross-sectional online health surveys were conducted during March–May 2020. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to determine associations between self-reported changes in fruit, vegetable, soft drink and sweet and salted snack consumption or weight as dependent variables and food insecurity indicators as independent variables, adjusted for gender, household composition, educational attainment and household income. Setting: Belgium. Participants: In total, 8640 adults recruited by convenience sampling. Results: About 10·4 % of Belgians often or sometimes feared food shortages, 5·0 % were often or sometimes short of food without money to buy more and 10·3 % often or sometimes could not afford to eat a healthy diet during confinement. These percentages were highest among single-parent families (26·7, 14·4 and 23·4 %, respectively). Adults who often or sometimes feared that food would run out during confinement had significantly higher odds of decreased v. unchanged fruits (3·53; 95 % CI = 2·06, 6·05) and vegetables (5·42; 95 % CI = 2·90, 10·11) consumption and significantly higher odds of increased v. unchanged soft drink consumption (3·79; 95 % CI = 2·20, 6·54). Similar results were found for adults who often or sometimes ran out of food and for adults who often or sometimes were not able to afford a healthy diet. Conclusion: Food insecurity during the COVID-19 confinement measures in Belgium was associated with adverse changes in most dietary behaviours. A strong government response is needed to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity to protect public health from ongoing and future pandemics.

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Association between food insecurity and access to a mental health professional: cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2007–2014

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10818-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nina Camille Burruss ◽

Marina Girgis ◽

Karen Elizabeth Green ◽

Lingyi Lu ◽

Deepak Palakshappa

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Professional ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Mental Health Professional ◽

The United States ◽

Bivariate Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Past ◽

Cross Sectional Analysis ◽

Sectional Analysis

Abstract Background To determine if individuals with food insecurity (FI) were less likely to have seen a mental health professional (MHP) within the past year than individuals without FI. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted in the United States between 2007 and 2014. All participants 20 years of age or older were eligible for this study. We excluded participants who were pregnant, missing FI data, or missing data from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The primary outcome was self-reported contact with a MHP in the past 12 months. We used multivariable logistic regression models to test the association between FI and contact with a MHP, controlling for all demographic and clinical covariates. Results Of the 19,789 participants, 13.9% were food insecure and 8.1% had major depressive disorder (MDD). In bivariate analysis, participants with FI were significantly more likely to have MDD (5.3% vs 2.8%, p < 0.0001) and to have been seen by a MHP in the preceding 12 months (14.0% vs 6.9%, p < 0.0001). In multivariable models, adults with FI had higher odds of having seen a MHP (OR = 1.32, CI: 1.07, 1.64). Conclusions This study demonstrates that individuals with FI were significantly more likely to have seen a MHP in the preceding 12 months compared to individuals without FI. Given the growing interest in addressing unmet social needs in healthcare settings, this data suggests that visits with MHPs may be a valuable opportunity to screen for and intervene on FI.

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Under-five malnutrition among Palestine refugee children living in camps in Jordan: a mixed-methods study

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005577 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. e005577

Author(s):

Nada AbuKishk ◽

Hannah Gilbert ◽

Akihiro Seita ◽

Joia Mukherjee ◽

Peter J Rohloff

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Refugee Children ◽

Structural Barriers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Economic Rights ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Primary Healthcare Provider ◽

Children's Caregivers ◽

Income Insecurity

BackgroundJordan hosts the largest Palestine refugee population in the world. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the primary healthcare provider for Palestine refugees. To better inform UNRWA’s health programme, we conducted this study to assess the prevalence and determinants of malnutrition among Palestine refugee children in Jordan and to analyse caregiver perceptions of food insecurity and structural barriers to accessing food.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 405 households, for children under 5 years old in two refugee camps in Jordan, Jerash and Souf. Sociodemographic, food insecurity, diet quality and child anthropometric data were collected. Also, twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with children’s caregivers, along with two focus group discussions with UNRWA staff.ResultsOut of the 367 participants, the prevalence of stunting was 23.8% in Jerash and 20.4% in Souf (p=0.46), and overweight was 18.2% versus 7.1%, respectively (p=0.008). However, high food insecurity in Jerash was 45.7% and 26.5% in Souf (p=0.001), with no significant difference after multivariable adjustment. Qualitative perspectives saw food insecurity and low-quality children’s diets as largely mediated by job and income insecurity, especially marked in Jerash due to the lack of Jordanian citizenship.ConclusionWe found a moderate-to-high prevalence of stunting and overweight levels among Palestine refugee children, which are three times higher than the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey data for Jordanian non-refugee children. High rates of household food insecurity were closely tied to households’ lack of essential civil and economic rights. We call for international collective efforts to expand economic livelihoods for Palestine refugees and to support UNRWA’s ongoing operations.

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Acute food insecurity and short-term coping strategies of urban and rural households of Bangladesh during the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic of 2020: report of a cross-sectional survey

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043365 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. e043365

Author(s):

Subhasish Das ◽

Md. Golam Rasul ◽

Md Shabab Hossain ◽

Ar-Rafi Khan ◽

Md Ashraful Alam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Rural Households ◽

P Value ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Food Insecure Households

IntroductionWe conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess the extent and to identify the determinants of food insecurity and coping strategies in urban and rural households of Bangladesh during the month-long, COVID-19 lockdown period.SettingSelected urban and rural areas of Bangladesh.Participants106 urban and 106 rural households.Outcome variables and methodHousehold food insecurity status and the types of coping strategies were the outcome variables for the analyses. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were done to identify the determinants.ResultsWe found that around 90% of the households were suffering from different grades of food insecurity. Severe food insecurity was higher in urban (42%) than rural (15%) households. The rural households with mild/moderate food insecurity adopted either financial (27%) or both financial and food compromised (32%) coping strategies, but 61% of urban mild/moderate food insecure households applied both forms of coping strategies. Similarly, nearly 90% of severely food insecure households implemented both types of coping strategies. Living in poorest households was significantly associated (p value <0.05) with mild/moderate (regression coefficient, β: 15.13, 95% CI 14.43 to 15.82), and severe food insecurity (β: 16.28, 95% CI 15.58 to 16.97). The statistically significant (p <0.05) determinants of both food compromised and financial coping strategies were living in urban areas (β: 1.8, 95% CI 0.44 to 3.09), living in poorest (β: 2.7, 95% CI 1 to 4.45), poorer (β: 2.6, 95% CI 0.75 to 4.4) and even in the richer (β: 1.6, 95% CI 0.2 to 2.9) households and age of the respondent (β: 0.1, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.21).ConclusionBoth urban and rural households suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity during the month-long lockdown period in Bangladesh. But, poorest, poorer and even the richer households adopted different coping strategies that might result in long-term economic and nutritional consequences.

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Food insecurity among the elderly: cross-sectional study with soup kitchen users

Revista de Nutrição ◽

10.1590/s1415-52732013000600007 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 679-691 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Bruna Fernanda do Nascimento Jacinto de Souza ◽

Letícia Marín-León

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Family Income ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

The Elderly ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Welfare Programs ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Socioeconomic Condition ◽

Soup Kitchen

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether food insecurity is associated with the demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health conditions of the elderly. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 427 elderly (³60 years) from Campinas, São Paulo; half were users of a government-run soup kitchen and the others, their neighbors of the same sex. Food insecurity was measured by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Univariate multinomial logistic regression was used for calculating the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval to measure the association between the independent variables and food insecurity. Variables with p<0.20 were included in a multinomial model, and only those with p<0.05 remained. RESULTS: Most respondents (63.2%) were males; 15.2% and 6.6% were experiencing mild and moderate/severe food insecurity, respectively. The final model, adjusted for sex and age, showed that elderly with a total family income ≤2 minimum salaries (OR=3.41, 95%CI=1.27-9.14), who did not have a job (OR=2.95, 95%CI=1.23-7.06), and who were obese (OR=2.01, 95%CI=1.04-3.87) were more likely to be mildly food insecure. Elderly with cancer (OR=4.13, 95%CI=1.21-14.0) and those hospitalized in the past year (OR=3.16, 95%CI=1.23-8.11) were more likely to be moderately/severely food insecure. Finally, elderly living in unfinished houses (OR=2.71; and OR=2.92) and who did not consume fruits (OR=2.95 and OR=4.11) or meats daily (OR=2.04 and OR=3.83) were more likely to be mildly and moderately/severely food insecure. CONCLUSION: Food insecure elderly are more likely to have chronic diseases, poor nutritional status, and poor socioeconomic condition. Therefore, the welfare programs should expand the number of soup kitchens and develop other strategies to assure adequate nutrition to these elderly.

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Eating rough: food sources and acquisition practices of homeless young people in Adelaide, South Australia

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1079/phn2005848 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 212-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Sue Booth

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Homeless Youth ◽

South Australia ◽

Food Sources ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Food Acquisition ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Related Services ◽

City Agencies

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the food sources and acquisition practices used by homeless youth in Adelaide. This work is part of a larger study that aimed to examine the extent and nature of food insecurity among homeless youth.DesignCross-sectional design involving quantitative and qualitative methods.SettingFour health and welfare inner-city agencies serving homeless youth in Adelaide, South Australia.SubjectsA sample of 150 homeless youth aged between 15 and 24 years recruited from these agencies. Fifteen were selected via snowball sampling for interview.ResultsUse of welfare food sources was high (63%). Food from welfare agencies was supplemented by unorthodox food acquisition methods such as theft (65%), begging for money for food (61%), begging for food items (44%) and asking for help from friends and relatives (34%). Reasons given for non-usage of welfare food services included affordability, access, being too busy, shame or embarrassment.ConclusionsFood insecurity is a salient issue for some homeless youth in Adelaide. Clarifying food acquisition practices of food-insecure homeless youth is essential for rational planning and improvement of food-related services to meet their needs. Such an understanding also underpins the development of broader public policy responses that improve individual and household skills and resources to acquire food and ensure food security. Nutrition professionals, welfare professionals and policy-makers need to work sensitively with welfare food agencies and others to improve food access and food security for homeless youth.

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Food insecurity, coping strategies and glucose control in low-income patients with diabetes

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980015002323 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 1103-1111 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Victoria L Mayer ◽

Kevin McDonough ◽

Hilary Seligman ◽

Nandita Mitra ◽

Judith A Long

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Low Income ◽

Glucose Control ◽

Economic Stress ◽

Poverty Level ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Assistance Program ◽

Patients With Diabetes ◽

And Coping

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relationship between food insecurity and coping strategies (actions taken to manage economic stress) hypothesized to worsen glucose control in patients with diabetes.DesignUsing a cross-sectional telephone survey and clinical data, we compared food-insecure and food-secure individuals in their use of coping strategies. Using logistic regression models, we then examined the association between poor glucose control (glycated Hb, HbA1c≥8·0 %), food insecurity and coping strategies.SettingAn urban medical centre, between June and December 2013.SubjectsFour hundred and seven adults likely to be low income (receiving Medicaid or uninsured and/or residing in a zip code with >30 % of the population below the federal poverty level) with type 2 diabetes.ResultsOf respondents, 40·5 % were food insecure. A significantly higher percentage of the food-insecure group reported use of most examined coping strategies, including foregone medical care, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)) and use of emergency food programmes. Food insecurity was associated with poor glucose control (OR=2·23; 95 % CI 1·22, 4·10); coping strategies that were more common among the food insecure were not associated with poor glucose control. Among the food insecure, receipt of SNAP was associated with lower risk of poor glucose control (OR=0·27; 95 % CI 0·09, 0·80).ConclusionsWhile food insecurity was associated with poor glucose control, most examined coping strategies did not explain this relationship. However, receipt of SNAP among food-insecure individuals was associated with better diabetes control, suggesting that such programmes may play a role in improving health.

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Examining the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Academic Performance: Implications for Diversity and Equity in Higher Education

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.1177/15210251211053863 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 152102512110538

Author(s):

Heather Mechler ◽

Kathryn Coakley ◽

Marygold Walsh-Dilley ◽

Sarita Cargas

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

United States ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Educational Equity ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Drop Out ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Professional Students ◽

The Relationship

In recent years, researchers have increasingly focused on the experience of food insecurity among students at higher education institutions. Most of the literature has focused on undergraduates in the eastern and midwestern regions of the United States. This cross-sectional study of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a Minority Institution in the southwestern United States is the first of its kind to explore food insecurity among diverse students that also includes data on gender identity and sexual orientation. When holding other factors constant, food-insecure students were far more likely to fail or withdraw from a course or to drop out entirely. We explore the role that higher education can play in ensuring students’ basic needs and implications for educational equity.

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