Contextual Determinants of Household Food Security in African-American and Hispanic Neighborhoods in the Southern US

15年前，Fitchen(1997)提出了这样一个问题：“为什么我们要在美国的富裕中继续忍受饥饿？”她假设美国人希望穷人吃得很少--富人应该吃牛排，穷人应该吃奶酪。尽管粮食不安全和饥饿在总人口中的流行率有所下降，但非洲裔美国人和拉美裔美国人的饥饿率仍然居高不下。在美国，少数族裔家庭经历粮食不安全的社会和文化背景是什么？在北卡罗来纳州的达勒姆县，这位博士生将调查影响粮食安全的结构、社区和家庭因素之间的关系。她建议从居住在城市和农村社区的非裔美国人和西班牙裔家庭的角度出发，建立一个粮食安全的理论模型。使用通过地理信息系统开发的食物获取指标来确定8个案例研究社区，她将使用定性和参与性研究方法来进行关键线人访谈和焦点小组访谈。与会者将记录他们自己的家庭粮食安全来源、粮食援助在其家庭粮食安全中发挥的作用，以及粮食获得与粮食援助和家庭粮食安全的关系。这项研究的结果将为家庭内外家庭粮食安全的决定因素提供重要的见解。

15 years ago, Fitchen (1997) posed the question, "Why do we continue to tolerate hunger amidst the affluence of the United States?" She hypothesized that Americans expect the poor to eat marginally-the rich shall eat steak and the poor shall have cheese. Although the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger in the general population has fallen, high rates continue among African-Americans and Hispanics. What is the social and cultural context in which minority households experience food insecurity in the US? In Durham County, NC, this doctoral student will investigate the relationship between structural, community, and household factors that contribute to food security. She proposes to develop a theoretical model of food security based on the perspectives of African-American and Hispanic families living in urban and rural neighborhoods. Using food access indicators developed through GIS to identify 8 case study neighborhoods, she will use qualitative and participatory research methods to conduct key informant interviews and focus group interviews. Participants will document their own sources of household food security, the role that food assistance plays in their household food security, and the relationship of food access to food assistance and household food security. The results from this study will provide important insights into the determinants of household food security beyond and within the household.