Does Living near Public Transport Equate to Food (In)Security in the United States?—Evidence from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

Abstract

Food security is intrinsically related to health and well-being. This paper investigates the status quo of food insecurity among the population residing close to transit in various parts of the United States of America (USA). The data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the USA are analyzed in this research. Logistic regression is carried out by treating food insecurity as the dependent variable and socioeconomic variables such as age, income, education, and dependency on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as independent variables. Food insecurity is assessed with aggregated information on four aspects of inputs from those respondents who live near a transit: (1) worry food would run out; (2) food did not last; (3) could not afford to eat balanced meals; and (4) cut the size of meals or skipped meals. Findings suggest that respondents who live close to public transit in the USA and are from large central metro counties of the Northeastern, Southern, and Western states showed an increase in food insecurity if they were under 65 years of age, had income below the country’s median income, or their educational attainment was below bachelor’s degree. There was a significant association found in food insecurity of respondents living close to transit and subscribed to using food stamps or SNAP. Policies that could alleviate food insecurity by reducing the cost of living near transit are recommended.