Reconsidering Household Food Insecurity: Assessing the Impact of Neighborhood and Household Characteristics

ABSTRACT

Motivated by substantial public health implications of food insecurity, this study systematically reexamined its determinants beyond household disadvantages. Utilizing data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and American Community Survey, hierarchical linear modeling was employed. The findings underscored notable between-neighborhood variations in food insecurity after adjusting for household-specific characteristics, revealing residing in high-poverty or nonmetropolitan areas heightened the risk. Demographic disparities were evident, with Black and Hispanic households experiencing elevated food insecurity, despite neighborhood racial composition. Additional household factors exacerbating food insecurity included financial constraints, limited education, vehicle inaccessibility, and single-living arrangements. These findings inform interventions in similar contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Food insecurity
• household
• neighborhood
• race/ethnicity
• disadvantages

Acknowledgements

“Some of the data used in this analysis are derived from Restricted Data Files of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, obtained under special contractual arrangements designed to protect the anonymity of respondents. These data are not available from the authors. Persons interested in obtaining PSID Restricted Data Files should contact [email protected].”

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The survey questions of the Household Food Security Model used by PSID to assess household food security are mentioned in the Appendix.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.