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：“为什么在美国如此富裕的情况下，我们还要继续忍受饥饿？”她假设美国人希望穷人吃得少——富人吃牛排，穷人吃奶酪。尽管总体人口中粮食不安全和饥饿的发生率已经下降，但非洲裔美国人和西班牙裔美国人的比例仍然很高。在什么样的社会和文化背景下，少数民族家庭在美国经历食品不安全？在北卡罗来纳州达勒姆县，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。她建议建立一个基于生活在城市和农村社区的非裔美国人和西班牙裔家庭视角的粮食安全理论模型。利用地理信息系统开发的粮食获取指标来确定8个案例研究社区，她将使用定性和参与性研究方法进行关键线人访谈和焦点小组访谈。与会者将记录自己家庭粮食安全的来源、粮食援助在其家庭粮食安全中的作用，以及获得粮食援助与家庭粮食安全之间的关系。这项研究的结果将为家庭内外的家庭粮食安全决定因素提供重要见解。

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.