Abstract
There is limited evidence of how Australian low-to-middle income (AUD $40,000–$80,000) households maintain food security. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods methodology, this study explored and compared the food security (FS) and insecurity (FIS) experiences of these households. An initial quantitative survey categorised participants according to food security status (the 18-item United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module) and income level to identify and purposefully select participants to qualitatively explore food insecurity and security experiences. Of the total number of survey participants (n = 134), 42 were categorised as low-to-middle income. Of these, a subset of 16 participants (8 FIS and 8 FS) was selected, and each participant completed an in-depth interview. The interviews explored precursors, strategies to prevent or address food insecurity, and the implications of the experience. Interview data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Five themes emerged from the analysis: (i) food decision experiences, (ii) assets, (iii) triggers, (iv) activation of assets, and (v) consequences and emotion related to walking the food security tightrope. The leverage points across all themes were more volatile for FIS participants. Low-to-middle income Australians are facing the challenges of trying to maintain or improve their food security status, with similarities to those described in lower income groups, and should be included in approaches to prevent or address food insecurity.
Highlights
Food insecurity—the limited or uncertain availability of individuals’ and households’ physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and culturally relevant food—is a complex, persistent, and multidimensional phenomenon [1]
Forty-two participants were classified as low-to-middle income (food secure (FS), n = 26 and food insecure (FIS), n = 16), including 12 households with children
This study reveals novel and important findings on the existence of food insecurity amongst low-to-middle income Melbourne households, an income group that would not necessarily be considered food insecure within the context of a high-income country
Summary
Food insecurity—the limited or uncertain availability of individuals’ and households’ physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and culturally relevant food—is a complex, persistent, and multidimensional phenomenon [1]. Irrespective of an abundance of food and relative wealth, the issue of food insecurity is one experienced amongst high income countries, including. The 2011–2012 National Health Survey, using a single-item tool, indicated that 4% of Australians, or approximately one million, were living in a household that was food insecure [2]. Utilising different valid multi-item tools, the prevalence of food insecurity in other high income countries was found to be 15% in New Zealand [3], 12.3% in Canada [4], 8% in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (U.K.) [5], and 14% in the United States (U.S.) [6]. The core characteristics of food insecurity have been described at both an individual and household level to include anxiety, concern, compromise to the quantity and nutritional
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