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. 2019 Apr 1:40:319-337.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044132. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Aligning Programs and Policies to Support Food Security and Public Health Goals in the United States

Hilary K Seligman  1   2 , Seth A Berkowitz  3   4
Affiliations

Aligning Programs and Policies to Support Food Security and Public Health Goals in the United States

Hilary K Seligman et al. Annu Rev Public Health. .

Abstract

Food insecurity affects 1 in 8 US households and has clear implications for population health disparities. We present a person-centered, multilevel framework for understanding how individuals living in food-insecure households cope with inadequate access to food themselves and within their households, communities, and broader food system. Many of these coping strategies can have an adverse impact on health, particularly when the coping strategies are sustained over time; others may be salutary for health. There exist multiple opportunities for aligning programs and policies so that they simultaneously support food security and improved diet quality in the interest of supporting improved health outcomes. Improved access to these programs and policies may reduce the need to rely on individual- and household-level strategies that may have negative implications for health across the life course.

Keywords: ecological frameworks; food insecurity; health disparities.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rising medical and public health interest in food insecurity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interwoven pathways connecting food insecurity and poor health.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Food-insecure individuals draw on resources at the individual, household, community, and systems levels. Abbreviations: LIHEAP, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
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