Abstract
Food security among migrants and refugees is a concern across the globe, with the dearth of evidence on food labels and their influence on food security affecting disadvantaged communities especially. This paper discusses the experiences of food security among Libyan migrant families in Australia. The study is situated within the food and nutrition security framework. A qualitative approach was adopted with in-depth interviews conducted with 27 Libyan migrants. Thematic analysis identified three themes: food security, food label comprehension, and strategies for dealing with food insecurity and food labelling difficulties. Food security had different meanings to different individuals. Access to culturally appropriate (halal) foods was problematic for families in regional and rural areas due to a lack of availability outside the main cities. In terms of food labelling, the language and terms used were a common issue for most families in both rural and city environments. Many families attempted to find ways to counteract food insecurity; however, lower-income families found this more burdensome. It is crucial that health and social welfare providers consider means to reduce food insecurity among Libyan migrants to allow them to live a healthier life in Australia.
Highlights
Food security can be broadly defined as people having consistent access to enough safe and nutritious food and culturally appropriate food that meets their dietary needs, so that they can lead active healthy lives [1].Food insecurity, by contrast, refers to a lack of access to such food [2]
This paper aims to investigate food security among Libyan migrant families in Australia qualitatively, exploring as many aspects of the issue as possible, including access to affordable foods that meet their cultural and religious needs, food label usage, the association between food label knowledge and food security, and the strategies migrants adopt in relation to food security and food labelling
Situated within a food and nutrition security framework, this paper provided insight into the food security experience among Libyan migrants in Australia
Summary
By contrast, refers to a lack of access to such food [2]. Food security is crucial to health and has four dimensions (access, availability, utilisation, and stability) and is often less about food availability than issues that reduce its accessibility (affordability, location, and transport) [1,3,4]. In Australia, the latest the Australian Health Survey (AHS). Estimated that overall, 4% of Australian households ran out of food, with about 1.5%. Going without food when they could not afford it [5]. Such figures are low compared to prevalence elsewhere. Australia was ranked sixth in 2017 according to the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) [6].
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