Abstract
BackgroundFood insecurity is a critical problem in the United States and throughout the world. There is little published data that provides insights regarding the extent and severity of food insecurity among the hard-to-reach Mexican-origin families who reside in the growing colonias along the Texas border with Mexico. Considering that culture, economics, and elements of the environment may increase the risk for food insecurity and adverse health outcomes, the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between household and community characteristics and food insecurity.MethodsThe study used data from the 2009 Colonia Household and Community Food Resource Assessment (C-HCFRA). The data included 610 face-to-face interviews conducted in Spanish by promotoras (indigenous community health workers) in forty-four randomly-identified colonias near the towns of Progreso and La Feria in Hidalgo and Cameron counties along the Texas border with Mexico. C-HCFRA included demographic characteristics, health characteristics, food access and mobility, food cost, federal and community food and nutrition assistance programs, perceived quality of the food environment, food security, eating behaviors, and alternative food sources.Results78% of participants experienced food insecurity at the level of household, adult, or child. The most severe - child food insecurity was reported by 49% of all households and 61.8% of households with children. Increasing levels of food insecurity was associated with being born in Mexico, increasing household composition, decreasing household income, and employment. Participation in federal food assistance programs was associated with reduced severity of food insecurity. Greater distance to their food store and perceived quality of the community food environment increased the odds for food insecurity.ConclusionsThe Mexican-origin population is rapidly expanding; record numbers of individuals and families are experiencing food insecurity; and for those living in rural or underserved areas such as the colonias, the worst forms of food insecurity are an ongoing reality. The rates of households with adult and child food insecurity in this border area are alarming and among the highest reported. Clearly, systematic and sustained action on federal, state, and community levels is needed to reduce household, adult, and child food insecurity that integrates cultural tailoring of interventions and programs to address food and management skills, multi-sector partnerships and networks, expansion of food and nutrition assistance programs, and enhanced research efforts.
Highlights
The term food insecurity, which refers to all aspects of food and nutrition insufficiency, insecurity, and hunger describes an inadequate quality and/or quantity of food at the household, adult and/or child levels, and is a critical problem in the United States [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
Most food insecure households occasionally experienced diminished food supplies; one-fourth of food insecure households and one-third of households with very low food security experienced frequent or chronic food insecurity, such as running out of food every month [23]. National surveys, such as the 1999 Current Population Survey (CPS), 2009 CPS, and NHANES III have consistently found that Hispanic/ Latino households were at the greatest risk for food insecurity [23,26,27,28,29]
In the United States, the Mexican-origin population is rapidly expanding; record numbers of individuals and families are experiencing food insecurity nationwide; and for those living in rural or underserved areas such as the colonias, food insecurity is an ongoing reality for many adults and children
Summary
The term food insecurity, which refers to all aspects of food and nutrition insufficiency, insecurity, and hunger describes an inadequate quality and/or quantity of food at the household, adult and/or child levels, and is a critical problem in the United States [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Outcomes related to poor nutrition affect a substantial number of Latino children, who are more likely than African American or white children to have mental and oral health problems, and high rates of overweight and obesity [17]. For Hispanic households with food insecure children or with very low food security among children, the prevalence in 2009 was 18.7% and 2.5%, respectively This rate was two percentage points greater than African American households with food insecure children and 2.8 times larger than the 7.6% of non-Hispanic white households with food insecure children [23]. Considering that culture, economics, and elements of the environment may increase the risk for food insecurity and adverse health outcomes, the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between household and community characteristics and food insecurity
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