Food sources and intake of homeless persons

Abstract

Given the magnitude of public and private efforts to supply those in need with food at emergency feeding sites, it might be assumed that homeless people do not have a problem getting adequate amounts of food. Results from a nationally representative study of 1,704 homeless adults and 400 soup kitchen and shelter providers in 20 cities with populations of 100,000 or more show that, for many homeless individuals, hunger or food security is a problem. Although the majority of providers serve meals on five to seven days per week, meal observations show that the average meal served provided 1,000 kcals and was low in fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Twenty-four hour food lists of the individuals' intakes show that people using services eat two or more meals per day but only meet the USDA recommendations for meats or meat alternatives. Their diets are particularly low in fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy products. Although solutions include increasing the quantity and quality of food available to homeless people, as well as increasing the availability of housing, it is most important to address the general problems of poverty that play a major role in keeping people in a homeless condition or without adequate resources.