Levels Of Food Insecurity Research Articles

Disparities in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-year analysis

While the overall level of food insecurity in the United States has remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic, certain individuals and regions have fared worse than others. This study examines state-level variables affecting individual- and household-level food insecurity during the recent two years of the pandemic beginning in 2020 by utilizing the Household Pulse Survey, a new nationally representative dataset developed by the United States Census Bureau. The results of this study suggest a set of statewide factors, such as pandemic-driven market conditions, COVID-19 prevalence, and the implementation of federal programs, are associated with the level of food insecurity that individuals have experienced during the pandemic over the past two years. The associations varied by household income levels, indicating a strong relationship between higher-income households and market conditions, as well as the importance of federal programs and state policies in alleviating food insecurity among lower-income households. The food insecurity indices also overlapped with different socioeconomic and health hardships caused by the pandemic, such as employment income loss, housing instability, and mental health problems. The findings of this study highlight state-level contexts, particularly the role of state governments, in responding to pandemic-related food insecurity.

Complex dynamics in sustaining clean cooking and food access through a pandemic: A COVID-19 impact study in peri-urban Cameroon

Access to clean energy for cooking is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7. Latest predictions suggest that this goal will not be met by 2030, with further setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on household cooking fuel, practices and dietary behaviours in a peri-urban community in Central Cameroon. Using surveys (n = 333) and qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 12), we found negative financial impacts and high levels of food insecurity, with 83 % and 56 % of households reporting reduced income and insufficient food, respectively. Households reduced food intake and cooking frequency and relied more heavily on local sources (e.g., farmland) to feed their families. Changes in primary cooking fuel were less pronounced and fuel choice was inherently linked to cooking behaviours, with some households utilising LPG more often for simple tasks, such as reheating food. Local systems were key in sustaining food and fuel access and households demonstrated resilience by employing numerous mechanisms to overcome challenges. Our findings underline the vulnerability of households in maintaining sufficient food intake and sustaining clean cooking, highlighting how policy needs to take a nuanced approach considering food-energy dynamics and strengthening local systems to ensure access to clean energy is resistant to system shocks.

Sociodemographic Correlates of Food Insecurity in Students Attending a Private University: A Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Study.

Background: Food insecurity is thought to be a prevalent yet misunderstood problem among college/university students. There is limited evidence regarding the prevalence of food insecurity in this population, and even less among private institutions of higher education. Food insecurity in college/university students can have harmful effects on students’ academic performance and health. The aim of this study was thus to examine food security among college/university students and assess variables which may be associated with it.Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected during October-November 2021 from undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a large private university in Florida, United States using an anonymous, self-administered online questionnaire that included the Validate U.S. Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Six-item index and select sociodemographic variables. Point-biserial correlation coefficient analysis was conducted to identify correlations between the scores on the U.S. Household Food Security Six-item Index and sociodemographic variables. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.27 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).Results: Among the 1,316 students who completed the questionnaire, 34% (n=447) reported being “food insecure” (scores between 2 and 6), with higher scores indicating more low food security. In addition, there was a weak but statistically significant correlation between identifying as a first-generation college/university student and greater food insecurity. Conversely, current employment and receiving financial aid from family were both weakly, yet statistically significantly correlated with less food insecurity.Conclusion: Results from this study may help raise awareness regarding university students at risk for low food security and understand certain socioeconomic variables associated with high levels of food insecurity. More research may be needed to help direct focused intervention efforts such as food assistance programs and on-campus food pantries to ameliorate food insecurity in college/university students.

The Impact of Land Fragmentation in Rice Production on Household Food Insecurity in Vietnam

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of land fragmentation in rice production on household food insecurity in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on the effect of land fragmentation on household food insecurity in rice production. This study uses a relatively rich panel dataset of rice farming households across different regions from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) 2012, 2014, and 2016. The research applies the ordered probit model to identify land fragmentation and other factors affecting household food insecurity at different food insecurity levels. Findings indicate that land fragmentation and rice seed types are positively correlated with household food insecurity. Importantly, the odds of an increase of 1% fragmentation land index increase the probability of household food insecurity at a very high level of 4.79% after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Other factors such as total cultivated area, access to credit, and household savings help reduce household food insecurity. These findings suggest that the government needs to foster the process of consolidating fragmented rice plots to help households produce efficiently and reduce food insecurity for their families. In addition, other approaches such as increasing farm size for each rice farmer and access to credit can increase the probability of food security for rural households in Vietnam.

Food security and feeding behaviours in low-income, Latinx families with preschool-aged children.

To examine the association between food security and feeding practices in Latinx parents of pre-school-aged children and examine possible effect modification by parental self-efficacy. Cross-sectional assessment using the US Department of Agriculture screener for food insecurity as the exposure and sub-scales of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire as the outcome with the General Self-Efficacy Scale as an effect modifier. Non-parametric descriptive statistics were used to compare groups based on food security status. Two Latinx communities with low-socioeconomic status in Texas in 2017 and in Oregon in 2018-2019. Latinx parents of preschool aged children, English and Spanish speaking. Dyads were excluded if they had moderate-severe developmental disabilities, a seizure disorder with a restrictive diet or taking medications known to influence typical growth. Of the 168 families in Oregon, 65 (38 %) reported food insecurity, and 10 (21 %) of the 48 families in Texas reported food insecurity. Food security was associated with greater parental monitoring practices in both the Texas and Oregon samples. We observed no differences in creating a healthy home food environment by food security status in either sample. Parental general self-efficacy showed evidence of effect modification in Oregon - only parents with lower self-efficacy showed a significant association between food security and feeding practices. Latinx parents of preschool children experience high levels of food insecurity, which are associated with maladaptive parental feeding practices. Greater parental general self-efficacy moderates this association and could buffer the effects of food insecurity on children's health.

Community Stakeholders' Perceptions on Barriers and Facilitators to Food Security of Families with Children under Three Years before and during COVID-19.

Children living in food-insecure households have poorer overall health than children in food-secure households. While U.S. nutrition assistance programs provide resources, these cannot consistently offer age-appropriate nutritional foods for young children. This study aimed to determine community stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to obtaining adequate, high-quality, and age-appropriate foods for children ages 0–3 in Florida before and during COVID-19. Community stakeholders (n = 32) participated in a 60 min interview via Zoom using a semi-structured script based on the PRECEDE component of the PRECEDE–PROCEED model. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded by two researchers using a thematic analysis approach. Stakeholders’ perceptions revealed a lack of awareness surrounding eligibility for assistance programs, a lack of knowledge regarding how to obtain resources and services, and stigma associated with receiving benefits. These remained significant barriers to obtaining healthful foods for households with young children before and during COVID-19. Nonetheless, barriers were exacerbated during the pandemic. Unemployment rates rose, intensifying these households’ financial hardships and food insecurity levels. Likewise, stakeholders suggested the need for families to become more aware of federal assistance eligibility requirements and available opportunities via social media and referrals. Identifying risk factors associated with food insecurity can inform future interventions to safeguard young children’s health and well-being.

The corporate influence on food charity and aid: The "Hunger Industrial Complex" and the death of welfare.

There is an existing literature on how food companies, including the unhealthy food commodity industries, influence policy through a number of approaches. Direct approaches include lobbying and funding of research. Backdoor or indirect tactics used by food companies to demonstrate engagement include funding community groups, tactics previously used by the tobacco industry. Food industry support for food charities engaged in food donations is an area that has not received attention. This is another backdoor approach and one which may compromise more general public health policy. It is no surprise that the companies that engage in this can be largely fall under the rubric of unhealthy food commodity industries. This link is sometimes referred to as the “hunger industrial complex” and is based on the argument that an alliance exists between the food industry and the food banking movement. With rising levels of food insecurity there is pressure on the food system to donate food to charitable enterprises such as food banks and soups kitchens, which is often encouraged by government policy such as “Good Samaritan legislation”. Food businesses contribute surplus food and often promote it as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda. The argument presented here is not an anti-food charity one but one which challenges the development of charitable food aid as a system and a replacement for public policy. The reasons for this can be summarized under three headings: (1) such donation systems compromise the wider application of public food welfare and give the impression that food poverty is being addressed; (2) the links with food corporations provide a backdoor for influence on wider food policies; and (3) researchers taking money from food charities may be compromised by the direct and indirect relationships with companies. The focus in this paper is on the latter two issues; the first will be established as a context with work we have published elsewhere. This article draws on examples from the UK of how charities have linked with chocolate and soft drink companies. Examples include: “For every Easter egg bought on the Cadbury Worldwide Hide, Cadbury will donate an Easter egg to a food bank in our network”; a Coca-Cola initiative in December 2021 “Win a meal, give a meal on-pack competition across Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar consumption packs, giving consumers the chance to win food-related vouchers, while donating to FareShare”; and an October 2021 initiative where “McDonald's joins forces with FareShare to fund 1 million meals for UK families”. These relationships go beyond companies donating surplus food to food charities such as food banks and pantries to encouraging consumers to buy their products with the promise that the company will contribute products to such charities or provide cash donations in return for the purchase of their product.

Food systems and rural-urban linkages in African secondary cities

Urban populations globally are expected to increase by approximately 2.5 billion by 2050. Much of this growth is taking place in African cities, where about 40% of Africans live in urban areas with populations of less than 250,000. In many of these cities, rapid urban growth has outpaced economic and social development, resulting in high levels of urban poverty and widespread food insecurity. As one response strategy, urban households may leverage their linkages with rural areas and other towns or cities to supplement their food consumption, for example through food remittances or food purchases from remote retailers. While this strategy has been found to occur among inhabitants of large cities where existing research on urban food systems and urban food linkages with other areas has focused, the dynamics in smaller cities are likely different. In this paper, we draw on data from 837 surveys collected in 2021 to investigate household food sourcing strategies across 14 urban areas in Zambia with populations less than 100,000. We find that rural-urban food linkages are dominated by grains while urban-urban food linkages are predominantly composed of higher value foods. Our data further suggest that urban area characteristics explain more of the variability in food sourcing behaviors than household level characteristics, and that urban food purchasing preferences in secondary urban areas are sensitive to the food retail landscape available to households. These relationships highlight the disparate role that rural and urban linkages play across cities of different sizes. They suggest a need for food-related policies to consider diverse urban food systems among smaller cities.

Food security and nutrition in the world

July 6, 2022, saw the launch of the latest edition of the “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report. Jointly authored by several UN agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation, WHO, and the World Food Programme, the report outlined the disastrous effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on global levels of hunger and malnutrition. It noted that an estimated 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021, an increase of 150 million since 2019. Almost 924 million people faced severe levels of food insecurity in 2021, 207 million more than in 2019.

Social risk factors among individuals with a history of cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PurposeThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its economic consequences may disproportionately impact cancer survivors and their overall health-related quality of life. The objective of this study was to examine whether cancer survivors experienced higher levels of financial strain or food insecurity compared to those without a history of cancer.MethodsKaiser Permanente Research Bank (KPRB) study participants were invited to complete a series of electronic surveys starting April 2020 to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who completed the initial survey and one follow-up survey were included. The odds of financial strain and food insecurity in those with and without a history of cancer were estimated using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsCancer survivors (n = 16,231) had lower odds of reporting “somewhat hard” (AOR = 0.77) and “very hard” (AOR = 0.67) financial strain, and food insecurity “sometimes” (AOR = 0.70) and “often” (AOR = 0.55) compared to those with no history of cancer (n = 88,409). Non-Hispanic (NH) Black and Hispanic cancer survivors had higher odds compared to NH Whites of reporting financial strain and food insecurity. Smokers and those with multiple comorbidities had higher odds of reporting financial strain and food insecurity among cancer survivors.ConclusionsWhile cancer survivors overall did not report greater financial strain or food insecurity than individuals without a history of cancer, subsets of cancer survivors are experiencing greater social risks during the pandemic and should be prioritized for screening for social risk factors.Implications for Cancer SurvivorsIncorporating screening for social risk factors into care coordination workflows for subsets of cancer survivors should be a priority.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11764-022-01235-7.

Associations Between Mobility, Food Insecurity, and Transactional Sex Among Women in Cohabitating Partnerships: An Analysis From 6 African Countries 2016-2017.

Mobile women are at risk of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa, although we lack evidence for HIV risk among women in mobile partnerships, especially in the context of household food insecurity, a growing concern in the region. Women aged 15-59 years with a cohabitating male partner who participated in population-based HIV impact assessment surveys in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. We evaluated the association between women's and their partner's mobility (being away from home for more than 1 month or staying elsewhere) and transactional sex (selling sex or receiving money or goods in exchange for sex). We examined associations for effect measure modification by food insecurity level in the household in the past month. We used survey-weighted logistic regression, pooled and by country, adjusting for individual, partner, and household-level variables. Among women with a cohabitating male partner, 8.0% reported transactional sex, ranging from 2.7% in Lesotho to 13.4% in Uganda. Women's mobility [aOR 1.35 (95% CI: 1.08 to 1.68)], but not their partner's mobility [aOR 0.91 (0.74-1.12)], was associated with transactional sex. Food insecurity was associated with transactional sex independent of mobility [aOR 1.29 (1.10-1.52)]. Among those who were food insecure, mobility was not associated with increased odds of transactional sex. Food insecurity and women's mobility each increased the odds of transactional sex. Because transactional sex is associated with HIV risk, prevention programs can address the needs of mobile and food-insecure women, including those in cohabitating relationships.

Effects of vegetable production on income and livelihood of rural households in Nigeria

Aims: The growing level of food insecurity and poverty in developing nations, especially among rural households, requires more effort and measures to curb it. Engaging in vegetable production by rural households can play a significant role in alleviating poverty, improving their nutritional status and livelihood. This study, therefore, investigates the effect of vegetable production on rural farmers’ income and households’ livelihood in Nigeria.Methods and Results: Data collected from 400 vegetable farming households were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The results revealed that vegetable farming is a female-dominated venture (89.4% females). The regression results revealed that vegetable output had a positive and significant effect on rural households’ income. Other factors that influenced farmers’ income were household size, access to credit and farm size. Furthermore, vegetable production had positive effects on rural households’ livelihood by providing employment, income, basic needs, food, paying for school fees, improving their nutritional status and standard of living. Pests and diseases, poor storage facilities, post-harvest loss, inadequate credit facilities, high cost of inputs, poor knowledge of irrigation, poor transportation and poor extension services were the severe constraints faced in vegetable production.Conclusions: It can be inferred that vegetable production contributed immensely to rural households’ economic status, livelihood and wellbeing. Although, the venture was faced with some challenges. Therefore, the provision of accessible and affordable credit facilities by banks, government and non-governmental organizations to the farmers is important as this would encourage them, curb most of the constraints and increase their income.Significance and Impact of the Study: Understanding the effects of vegetable production on the income and livelihoods of rural dwellers will enhance participation. Therefore, the outcome of this study would allow policymakers to intervene in its production in view to lower poverty and malnutrition, and improve rural households’ wellbeing.

Impact of the Pandemic on the Eastern European Roma Population in Spain

This work focuses on the analysis of the incidence of Covid-19 in the Roma population of Eastern Europe residing in Spain. This article intends to examine the multidimensional impacts that the pandemic has caused in the different areas: education, employment, housing or fundamental rights. For this purpose, a thematic review was carried out on recent studies of the consequences of the pandemic on the Roma ethnic minority in the various countries of Europe, and Spain in particular. The decline in the precarious living conditions of this population has reached alarming levels in the various European countries during the pandemic, increasing levels of food insecurity and revealing new processes of discrimination and stigmatization towards this group in all countries of Europe. In this work, the Covid-19 pandemic has been considered a new global factor that makes up a new scenario, influencing pre-existing exclusion dynamics. These always seem to affect the same population sectors, the most vulnerable, which occupy a more marginal position in the social stratification that emerges from global dynamics. Once again we witness human rights abuses against Roma in the EU context closely linked to the process of ethnicization of the pandemic.

The socio-economic situation, food and nutrition insecurity in the Republic of Benin during the COVID-19 pandemic

Food and nutrition security is about promoting rights to access sufficient, quality food without compromising other essential needs. The measures of social distancing, the paralysis of non-essential economic activities imposed to control the pandemic of COVID-19 caused disruptions in food production and supply chains worldwide. The study aimed to assess the food and nutrition security status of households in the Republic of Benin and also the socioeconomic situation during the pandemic. The results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the levels of poverty and food insecurity in Benin. Overall more than 50% of the participants were living on only one minimum wage or less and more than 50% were living in acute food insecurity including families with children. The central region of the country was the most affected by food insecurity followed by the northern region. There was a lack or low intervention of regional, economic and social policies to maintain jobs and guarantee food for the affected families. More governmental or non-governmental policies are needed to ensure food and nutritional security for low-income families.

An Analysis of the Determinants of Irrigation Farmworkers’ Food Security Status: A Case of Tshiombo Irrigation Scheme, South Africa

Food insecurity is a comprehensive challenge. Food, being one of the most basic human needs, has become one of the most important concerns in the world, as more people are living in poverty and are vulnerable to food insecurity. Food insecurity levels vary across sectors, meaning that policy recommendations to address the problem have to be in specific contexts. Farmworkers in irrigation schemes are a sub-group that has received little attention in research regarding food security outcomes. This paper provides evidence of a study that was carried out to analyze food security among irrigation scheme farmworkers who either rent or do not rent irrigation plots from their employers in the Tshiombo Irrigation Scheme, Limpopo Province. Data were collected from 191 randomly selected farmworkers. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was utilized to determine the extent of food security among the irrigation scheme farmworkers. Data were analyzed using the ordered probit model. Among the variables considered in the model, land size (p < 0.05), land leasing (p < 0.01), total household expenditure (p < 0.05), and food stored by farmworkers (p < 0.1) were found to significantly influence irrigation farmworkers’ food security status. These findings suggest that policymakers should design policies that encourage stakeholders from NGOs, and private and public sectors to train and provide resources that will enable and develop livelihood skills among farmworkers.

An evolving threat to life and livelihoods: comparing the health, economic and political implications of the first two waves of COVID-19 in Bengaluru and Patna slums

How has COVID-19 affected the urban poor across cities and over time? This research note serves as a follow-up to an earlier study on the impacts of the first wave of the pandemic on informal settlements in two Indian cities. This note draws on additional interviews with key informants from 20 settlements to compare the economic and health impacts of the first two major waves of the pandemic in Bengaluru and Patna, as well as respondents’ attitudes towards the government’s response. Informants in both cities reported higher levels of food insecurity during the second wave resulting from a substantial reduction in government aid, cumulative economic impacts from the first and second waves and, in the case of Bengaluru only, a surge in COVID-19 infections and associated healthcare costs. While slum residents in Bengaluru universally describe the health and economic effects of the second wave as more severe than the first, residents in Patna report the opposite. I argue these disparate characterisations reflect different expectations and approval of local government’s response to the crisis across cities and waves.

The status and determinants of rural household food insecurity in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Food insecurity and under nutrition are significant challenges to the economic growth of Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to identify the status and determinants of food insecurity for households targeted under a productive safety net program. About 392 beneficiary households were selected using multistage random sampling methods. The household food balance model and multiple linear regression models were used to measure household food insecurity levels and identify factors affecting food insecurity. According to the food balance model output, all sample households targeted under the program were food insecure. This revealed that the total daily energy available to the sample households was less than 2100 kcal per adult equivalent. Moreover, the multiple regression model output depicts that family size, sex of the respondents, total farm owned by the respondents, livestock size, credit utilization, household participation in community organization, household access to off/non-farm income, and household access to saving habit had a significant effect on food insecurity status of households. Therefore, in order to reduce the food insecurity status of households policymakers should focus on strengthening household saving habits, expanding off/non-farm activities, promoting family planning, and strengthening the credit services.

A collaborative approach to Monitoring and Evaluating the Impact of Agricultural Projects on Nutrition

The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of agricultural projects for their impact on household food insecurity and nutrition is important, given the paucity of data documenting successes and failures in such projects, and because of the need to rapidly address possible adverse effects in such projects. Recognizing, however, the lack of capacity and/or reluctance of some agriculture project managers and planners to incorporate nutrition in their management information systems, a feasible alternative approach is needed, one capable of meeting agriculture-nutrition M&E objectives without encumbering project managers. To help overcome this, external teams of skilled individuals could carry out M&E for food security and nutrition. Baseline and monitoring data should indicate (a) the extent to which households and individuals within households have been reached by the project, (b) household food insecurity levels, dietary quality, and/or market-level indicators of food availability and prices, (c) women’s empowerment, (d) the health and sanitation environment, and (e) where appropriate, nutritional status. Additional data of primary interest to project managers also would be collected. Although ownership of nutrition issues in the field of agriculture is desirable in the long term, this approach offers a short-term means of assessing and learning from the nutrition effects of these agriculture projects in the immediate term. This is particularly important in the current environment of increasing interest in improving nutrition impact from such projects.

Association of Household Food Insecurity With Dietary Intakes and Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among School-Aged Children in Gaza Strip, Palestine.

BackgroundThe present study aimed to determine the association of household food insecurity with dietary intakes and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among school-aged children.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample of school-aged children. A total of 380 children and their parents were selected from all Gaza strip governorates, using a random sampling method. The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics; the Radimer/Cornell food security scale; two non-consecutive days of 24-h dietary recall; anthropometric measurements; and the Food and Agriculture Organization KAP-questionnaire (Module 3) were employed. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.ResultsAbout 71.6% of school-aged children were household food-insecure, while 28.4% were household food-secure. Significant associations were found between living area, educational level, household monthly income, weight for age and BMI for age z-scores, underweight, malnutrition status, intakes of protein, iron, vitamin D, and zinc among household food-secure, and household food-insecure. After adjustment for confounding variables, having nutrition-related adequate KAP were associated with lower odds of being food-insecure household [OR = 0.519, 95% (CI = 0.320–0.841)], [OR = 0.510, 95% CI = (0.315–0.827)], and [OR = 0.466, 95% CI = (0.285–0.763), P < 0.05 for all], respectively.ConclusionsLow socioeconomic status, low anthropometric indices, poor dietary intakes may be associated with a high level of food-insecurity; while having nutrition-related adequate KAP may be protective against food-insecurity among school-aged children.

Food insecurity and symptoms of anxiety and depression disorder during the COVID- 19 pandemic: COVID-Inconfidentes, a population-based survey

This study aimed to investigate the association between adult food insecurity (FI) and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in two Brazilian cities during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study used data derived from a cross-sectional survey of 1693 adults. Interviews were conducted using an electronic questionnaire. The FI was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 was used to measure the symptoms of GAD. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used for MDD symptoms. The association between FI, GAD, and MDD symptoms was investigated using a Poisson regression model with robust variance to estimate the prevalence ratio and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). In regression models, a linear association between FI levels and outcomes was observed, with severe food insecurity having a 3.56 higher prevalence of GAD symptoms (95% CI: 2.23, 5.68) and a 3.03 higher prevalence of MDD (95% CI: 1.55, 5.90). In the stratified analyses, worse results were observed for females and males, individuals with non-white race/skin color, those without children, and those with lower monthly family income. In conclusion, the FI was associated with symptoms of GAD and MDD, and the sociodemographic characteristics interfered in this association. Therefore, we recommend the improvement of public health and social protection policies for food-insecure people.