Prevalence of Household Food Insecurity in New Zealand Families with Infants ^†

Abstract

Household food insecurity, defined in New Zealand (NZ) as a ‘limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited ability to acquire acceptable foods in a socially acceptable way’, is a serious public health concern associated with poorer diet quality and nutritional deficiencies. Preventing food insecurity in infancy is crucial because adequate nutrition is essential for normal infant growth and development. Household food insecurity was investigated in the First Foods NZ study, a cross-sectional study of families with infants aged 6.9–10.1 months in Auckland and Dunedin. A NZ-specific questionnaire consisting of eight validated food security indicator statements relating to household financial constraint over the previous 12 months was administered. The participants’ responses were scored using a total scoring protocol developed in the study. Cut-offs were applied to the total scores to create categories of food insecurity (secure, moderately insecure, severely insecure), and each household (n = 604) was classified into a category. In total, 17.4% (n = 105) of the households were moderately food insecure and 7.6% (n = 46) were severely food insecure. Of the food security indicators, the participants most frequently reported that the variety of foods the household was able to eat was limited by a lack of money (18.5% sometimes; 3.3% often), feeling stressed because of not having enough money for food (16.6% sometimes; 3.2% often), or feeling stressed because they could not provide the food they wanted for social occasions (13.9% sometimes; 3.0% often). Severe food insecurity was most prevalent in participants of Māori or Pasifika ethnicity, <25 years of age, not in work or on leave from work, or for whom school was their highest level of education. One quarter (25%) of the families experienced a degree of food insecurity, highlighting the need for dignified solutions that support all NZ families to acquire foods that are nutritious, affordable, and culturally acceptable to them.