Reduction of Food Insecurity among Low-Income Canadian Seniors as a Likely Impact of a Guaranteed Annual Income

In recent decades, the number of farmer’s markets has increased dramatically across the country. Though farmers markets have been described as White spaces, they can play important roles in reducing food insecurity. This is particularly true in Michigan where farmer’s markets were crucial collaborators in pioneering programs such as Double-Up Food Bucks that help low-income residents and people of color gain access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food. This article examines the questions: (1) What are the demographic characteristics of the farmers market managers, vendors, and customers and how do these influence market activities? (2) To what extent do farmers markets participate in programs aimed at reducing food insecurity? (3) To what extent do farmers markets serve low-income residents and people of color? and (4) How has the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) affected the operations of farmers markets. This article discusses the findings of a 2020 study that examined the extent to which Michigan’s farmer’s markets served low-income customers and people of color and participated in food assistance programs. The study examined 79 farmers markets and found that 87.3% of the farmer’s market managers are White. On average, roughly 79% of the vendors of the markets are White and almost 18% are people of color. Most of the vendors in the markets participate in nutrition assistance programs. Market managers estimate that about 76% of their customers are White and about 23% are people of color. Farmers markets operated by people of color attract higher numbers of customers and vendors of color than those operated White market managers. Almost half of the farmer’s markets started operations later than usual in 2020 because of the pandemic. More than a third of the markets reported that their funding declined during the pandemic. Moreover, the number of vendors declined at two thirds of the markets and the number of customers dipped at more than 40% of the markets. On the other hand, the number of people requesting food assistance during the pandemic increased in more than half of the markets.

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Coping with Pet Food Insecurity in Low-Income Communities

Anthrozoös ◽

10.1080/08927936.2021.1898215 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Arnold Arluke

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Low Income ◽

Pet Food

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“You run out of hope:” An Exploration of Low-Income Parents’ Experiences with Food Insecurity using Photovoice

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021002743 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Payge Lindow ◽

Irene H. Yen ◽

Mingyu Xiao ◽

Cindy W. Leung

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

San Francisco ◽

Low Income ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Comparative Method ◽

Well Being ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Unhealthy Eating ◽

Low Income Families ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACT Objective: Using an adaption of the Photovoice method, this study explored how food insecurity affected parents’ ability to provide food for their family, their strategies for managing household food insecurity, and the impact of food insecurity on their well-being. Design: Parents submitted photos around their families’ experiences with food insecurity. Afterwards, they completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their photos. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for thematic content using the constant comparative method. Setting: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Subjects: 17 parents (14 mothers and 3 fathers) were recruited from a broader qualitative study on understanding the experiences of food insecurity in low-income families. Results: Four themes were identified from the parents’ photos and interviews. First, parents described multiple aspects of their food environment that promoted unhealthy eating behaviors. Second, parents shared strategies they employed to acquire food with limited resources. Third, parents expressed feelings of shame, guilt, and distress resulting from their experience of food insecurity. And finally, parents described treating their children to special foods to cultivate a sense of normalcy. Conclusions: Parents highlighted the external contributors and internal struggles of their experiences of food insecurity. Additional research to understand the experiences of the food-insecure families may help to improve nutrition interventions targeting this structurally vulnerable population.

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Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin

Land ◽

10.3390/land10030318 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 318

Author(s):

B. G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽

M. D. Houessou ◽

G. J. M. van den Boom ◽

A. Aoudji

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Low Income ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Site Suitability ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Middle Income ◽

Support Tool ◽

Allotment Gardens

In the context of rapid urbanization, poorer residents in cities across low- and middle-income countries increasingly experience food and nutrition deficiencies. The United Nations has highlighted urban agriculture (UA) as a viable solution to food insecurity, by empowering the urban poor to produce their own fresh foods and make some profit from surplus production. Despite its potential role in reducing poverty and food insecurity, there appears to be little political will to support urban agriculture. This is seen in unclear political mandates that are sustained by information gaps on selection criteria for UA sites. The research reported here addresses this issue in the form of a decision-making support tool that assesses the suitability of cadastral units and informal plots for allotment gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The tool was developed and tested for three rapidly expanding cities in Benin, a low-income country in West Africa, based on an ordered logit model that relates a set of 300 expert assessments on site suitability to georeferenced information on biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Soil, land use, groundwater depth, vicinity to market and women’s safety were significant factors in the assessment. Scaled up across all cadastral units and informal sites, the tool generated detailed baseline maps on site suitability and availability of areas. Its capacity to support policymakers in selecting appropriate sites comes to the fore by reporting changes in site suitability under scenarios of improved soil fertility and enhanced safety for women.

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Use of Formal and Informal Food Resources by Food Insecure Families in Lima, Peru: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Journal of Community Health ◽

10.1007/s10900-021-00989-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

J. D. Brewer ◽

M. P. Santos ◽

M. A. Lopez ◽

V. A. Paz-Soldan ◽

M. P. Chaparro

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Low Income ◽

Food Resources ◽

Food Assistance Programs ◽

Assistance Programs ◽

Food Security Status ◽

Financial Need ◽

June July ◽

Food Insecure Households

AbstractThe goal of this study was to measure food insecurity among families with children in a low-income district of Lima, Peru and to identify the formal and informal food resources available to them that may affect their food security status. In June-July 2019, we collected data from 329 randomly selected households in Villa El Salvador (Lima, Peru). Following a mixed methods approach, we found that the percentage of households using food assistance programs (FAPs) increased with increasing levels of food insecurity, but two FAPs were heavily used by households regardless of food (in)security. The main reasons for using FAPs included financial need, already being signed up in the program, and believing that the food was of nutritional value; the main reasons for non-use were finding the program unnecessary, dislike or poor perceived quality of the food, and not being able to sign up for the program. Similarly, informal food resources, such as buying food on credit or receiving food from someone outside the household, were incrementally used with increased levels of food insecurity. Our study clarifies the relationship between level of household food insecurity and FAP use – FAPs more commonly used by food insecure households were used because of financial need, whereas the FAPs most commonly used by food secure households were those with automatic enrollment. At a programmatic level, our research highlights the need for making nutritious and preferred foods available in FAPs and standardizing the application of enrollment criteria.

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A Food Insecurity Systematic Review: Experience from Malaysia

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13030945 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 945

Author(s):

Norhasmah Sulaiman ◽

Heather Yeatman ◽

Joanna Russell ◽

Leh Shii Law

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Low Income ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Welfare Recipient ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Household Food Insecurity ◽

Household Food

Living free from hunger is a basic human right. However, some communities still experience household food insecurity. This systematic literature review explored different aspects of household food insecurity in Malaysia including vulnerable groups, prevalence, risk factors, coping strategies, and the consequences of food insecurity. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Thirty-three relevant articles were selected from scientific databases such as CINAHL, Pubmed and Google Scholar, scrutiny of reference lists, and personal communication with experts in the field. The prevalence of household food insecurity in Malaysia was unexpectedly reported as high, with affected groups including Orang Asli, low-income household/welfare-recipient households, university students, and the elderly. Demographic risk factors and socioeconomic characteristics included larger household, living in poverty, and low education. Coping strategies were practices to increase the accessibility of food in their households. Consequences of household food insecurity included psychological, dietary (macro- and micronutrient intakes), nutritional status, and health impacts. In conclusion, this review confirmed that household food insecurity in Malaysia continues to exist. Nevertheless, extensive and active investigations are encouraged to obtain a more holistic and comprehensive picture pertaining to household food security in Malaysia.

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Food insecurity among Finnish private sector service workers and food pantry clients

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

M Erkkola ◽

L Uusitalo ◽

K Puputti ◽

T Saari ◽

P Jallinoja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Private Sector ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Low Income ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Resource Scarcity ◽

Considerable Proportion ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Service Workers ◽

Food Pantry ◽

Sector Service

Abstract Background There is a paucity of comparable quantitative data on the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity in high-income countries. We applied the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) to assess food insecurity among i) the Service Union United members; female-dominated, low-income employees of the Finnish private service sector, and ii) a convenience sample of Finnish food pantry clients. Methods The HFIAS classification was based on 9 validated questions capturing respondents' perceptions on food scarcity and behavioural responses to food insecurity due to lack of resources during the past month. The resulting indicator categorized respondents as food secure, and mildly, moderately and severely food insecure. We performed cross-tabulations and regression models to assess if education, housing, self-perceived health, income, and resource scarcity associated with levels of food insecurity. In addition, gender, age, and self-perceived disadvantage were assessed among the food pantry clients. Results Among the service workers (n = 6 573, 6% of those invited), 35% were food secure, 29% mildly or moderately food insecure, and 36% severely food insecure. The respective proportions were 28%, 26%, and 46% among the 129 food pantry clients. All assessed variables were associated to food insecurity status in the service workers (p < 0.01 for all). Among the food pantry clients, men (OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.09 − 4.80) and homeless/tenants in community rental units (OR 7.12; 95% CI 2.42 − 20.95) were most likely to experience severe food insecurity. Conclusions Alongside the food pantry clients the majority of the service workers demonstrated some degree of food insecurity, with a considerable proportion being severely food-insecure. This predominantly low-income group is subject to rapid changes in the labour market and social security systems. The data demonstrated that well-known SES indicators and self-perceived health are linked to food insecurity. Key messages Severe food insecurity was common among predominantly low-income private sector service workers and food pantry clients. Food insecurity is linked to SES indicators and wellbeing.

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