Purpose: To examine the associations between food insecurity and children’s involvement in family meal choices and food preparation, used as indicators for children’s food skills, among school-aged boys and girls.

Methods: Data from the Children’s Lifestyle and School Performance Study (CLASS) were used for this study. CLASS was a population-based survey conducted in 2011 among children in grade five (10-11 years old) in Nova Scotia, Canada. A total of 5,244 children participated. Household food insecurity status was assessed using the 6-item Household Food Security Survey Module (food secure: score 0; food insecure: score 1-6). Children’s involvement in family meal choices and food preparation were assessed by (i) asking children how often they helped make family meal choices; and (ii) how often they helped prepare or cook food at home. Mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression models were conducted using Stata/IC 14.

Results: One in four children (24%) lived in a food insecure household. Most children reported being involved in family meal choices (74%) or food preparation (68%) at least weekly, while one in ten (11%) children reported never doing either activity. Overall, boys were less likely to be involved in family meal choices and food preparation than girls. Girls from food insecure households were 33% less likely to help choose family meals once a week than girls from food secure households, although household food insecurity status was not associated with girls’ involvement in food preparation. There were no differences in boys’ involvement in family meal choices according to household food insecurity status; however, the likelihood of boys assisting with food preparation/cooking four times per week was 65% higher among boys from food insecure households compared with boys from food secure households.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that interventions aiming to address food insecurity by enhancing children’s food skills are unlikely to be effective. Among adults in Canada, food preparation and cooking skills are not associated with food insecurity. Likewise, children in CLASS who lived in food insecure households had similar or better involvement in home food preparation than those living in food secure households.  

Purpose: Assuming nutritious foods are available and accessible within a household, additional barriers linked with the transformation or utilization of food into meals including planning, management, selection of foods, preparation and cooking skills may impact dietary intake in food insecure (FI) households. This study examined the association between household food insecurity and barriers to vegetable utilization in low-income families. 

Methods: This was a cross-sectional baseline study that analyzed self-reported data from the parents of children in TX Sprouts, a cluster-randomized school-based gardening, cooking, and nutrition intervention. Cooking attitudes and self-efficacy were self-reported by parents via validated questionnaires. Household food insecurity was assessed using the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module. Binomial logistic regressions were used to investigate perceived barriers to the utilization of vegetables within the household.

Results: Data were available on 1891 parents and included the following demographics: 87% female, 63% Hispanic, and 27% reported household food insecurity. Not having time for preparation was associated with two-fold greater odds of having household food insecurity (p<0.001). Parents who reported the barriers of vegetables being hard to use before spoiling, not knowing simple, easy recipes, and not having assistance in cooking from other family members also had 1.6, 1.9 and 1.9 greater odds of food insecurity (p<0.001), respectively, compared to parents not reporting experiencing that barrier. The barriers of family members not liking vegetables and not knowing how to prepare vegetables were not associated with greater odds of being food insecure.

Conclusions: In addition to improvements in psychosocial behaviors, skill development as part of multi-context or multi-level public health interventions is needed to overcome barriers to utilization of foods to improve diet quality in food insecure households.

Purpose: To understand how a novel Systemic Innovation Lab methodology can be used to assess initiatives’ capacity to enhance community-level food security.

Methods: This pilot project took place in the South West region of Western Australia. The Systemic Innovation Lab methodology used included a six-stage process: Form, Explore, Map, Learn, Address and Share. A core team and reference group oversaw the project and a launch was held to engage government and community stakeholders (Form stage). Interviews with directors, volunteers, staff and business owners of 52 included initiatives (i.e. food literacy programs) enabled the team to determine possession of 36 desirable characteristics for enhancing complex issues like food security (Explore stage). These characteristics were outlined by the organisation Wicked Lab and reflected existing literature. Characteristics were embedded within nine Focus Areas, relating to supporting communities to move to a new way of working and supporting governments to explore and reuse community knowledge. The Map stage included uploading interview data into an online tool, to create a matrix of food security initiatives and the Focus Area characteristics they possessed. The online mapping tool was used to identify “windows of opportunity” across Focus Areas; initiatives could be supported to enhance their way of working. An action-planning workshop co-designed strategies to address windows of opportunity to facilitate initiative functioning.

Results: Many initiatives possessed qualities facilitating change towards more effective ways of working, such as through e-newsletters. Few initiatives possessed characteristics that supported a shared understanding of their common goal or used role models. Significant gaps existed in the connection between community and government, particularly in the utilisation of community knowledge.

Conclusions: Significant change is required to ensure greater collaboration between community and government food security initiatives. Governments should create the enabling conditions for community-based food security initiatives to thrive. Project participants were encouraged to utilise common language/branding and involve community and government in project governance to ensure the utilisation of community innovation and knowledge. Participants were referred to a free advocacy course and will be supported through a new "Food Community" website/app currently being developed.