Shining a Light on Food Insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Food insecurity has significant negative impacts on the health and well-being of those experiencing it. Hundreds of thousands of people in Aotearoa New Zealand are suffering because of food insecurity and it is of major concern. Currently however, there is a lack of understanding, insight, and intervention occurring. This research aimed to shine a light on the experience of those who are highly food insecure. To do this, I employed a quantitative survey design and collected data from more than 600 people who were accessing Auckland City Mission foodbank services in the second half of 2018. The analysis assessed the severity of the food insecurity present and quantified the impacts this has on well-being, also looking at differences by gender, ethnicity, age and household size. The findings showed that there was an over representation of women, Māori and Pasifika peoples, people raising children and those on a social security benefit seeking help from Mission foodbank services. The severity of the food insecurity experienced in this sample, rested at a mean of 5.66, meaning somewhere between once a week (six) and every couple of weeks (five) participants experience a high level of food insecurity. Pasifika peoples reported a statistically significant, albeit very small, lower level of food insecurity relative to Tauiwi (non-Maori and non-Pasifika). Tauiwi reported a statistically lower level of well-being, and Māori reported slightly higher levels. Females reported significantly higher levels of distress, as did Pasifika, with Māori reporting lower levels. Structural equation modelling showed there are mutually reinforcing interrelationships between food insecurity, reduced emotional well-being and psychological distress but food insecurity has a stronger impact on distress, than distress has on food insecurity. For these survey respondents, much of their day to day life is being lived without access to enough, appropriate food, in an unwell state of being and under distress some of the time. It is the lack of income that is the core driver of food insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand. There is a social and health cost to food insecurity and as a society, we are inevitably paying for it, albeit with little understanding or acknowledgement. This research project has sought to evidence this need so we can respond effectively.