Logo image
Food Insecurity and Public Health
Book chapter

Food Insecurity and Public Health

Mariana Chilton, Joanna Simmons and Molly Knowles
Food and Public Health
11 Oct 2018
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190626686.003.0007View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

social determinants of health health disparities life course perspective human rights food insecurity community action Discrimination
Food insecurity—lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life—is a major public health issue, affecting the health and well-being of one in seven people in the United States. Food insecurity is related to economic, social, and political conditions, and is beyond the control of a single household. Structural inequalities and discrimination against people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and women drives disparities in food insecurity. Major policy interventions include raising wages, improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, various programs of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and the Elder Nutrition Program, but these programs are not sufficient to address food insecurity fully. A human rights approach, which recognizes the right to food and promotes increasing civic participation among people from all sectors, offers new possibilities in addressing food insecurity in the United States.

Metrics

18 Record Views

Details

Logo image