Long-Term Food Insecurity, Hunger and Risky Food Acquisition Practices: A Cross-Sectional Study of Food Charity Recipients in an Australian Capital City

Christina M. Pollard, Sue Booth, Jonine Jancey, Bruce Mackintosh, Claire E. Pulker, Janine L. Wright, Andrea Begley, Sabrah Imtiaz, Claire Silic, S. Aqif Mukhtar, Martin Caraher, Joel Berg and Deborah A. Kerr
Additional contact information
Christina M. Pollard: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Sue Booth: College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5000, Australia
Jonine Jancey: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Bruce Mackintosh: School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth 6009, Australia
Claire E. Pulker: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Janine L. Wright: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Andrea Begley: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Sabrah Imtiaz: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Claire Silic: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
S. Aqif Mukhtar: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia
Martin Caraher: Centre for Food Policy, City University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
Joel Berg: Hunger Free America, 50 Broad Street, Suite 1103, New York, NY 10004, USA
Deborah A. Kerr: Faculty of Health Science, School of Public Health, Curtin University GPO Box U1987, Perth Western 6845, Australia

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Inadequate social protection, stagnant wages, unemployment, and homelessness are associated with Australian household food insecurity. Little is known about the recipients of food charity and whether their needs are being met. This cross-sectional study of 101 food charity recipients in Perth, Western Australia, measured food security, weight status, sociodemographic characteristics and food acquisition practices. Seventy-nine percent were male, aged 21–79 years, 90% were unemployed, 87% received social assistance payments, and 38% were homeless. Ninety-one percent were food insecure, 80% with hunger, and 56% had gone a day or more without eating in the previous week. Fifty-seven percent had used food charity for ≥1 year, and, of those, 7.5 years was the mode. Charitable services were the main food source in the previous week, however 76% used multiple sources. Begging for money for food (36%), begging for food (32%), stealing food or beverages (34%), and taking food from bins (28%) was commonplace. The omnipresence and chronicity of food insecurity, reliance on social security payments, and risky food acquisition suggest that both the social protection and charitable food systems are failing. Urgent reforms are needed to address the determinants of food insecurity (e.g., increased social assistance payments, employment and housing support) and the adequacy, appropriateness and effectiveness of food charity.

Keywords: food insecurity; hunger; social assistance; poverty; social security; charity; homeless; Australia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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