Putting food on the public health table: Making food security relevant to regional health authorities.
Food security is emerging as an increasingly important public health issue. The purpose of this paper is to describe a conceptual model and five classes of food security indicators for regional health authorities (RHAs): direct, indirect, consequence, process, and supra-regional. The model was developed after a review of the food security literature and interviews with British Columbia community nutritionists and public health officials. We offer this conceptual model as a practical tool to help RHAs develop a comprehensive framework and use specific indicators, in conjunction with public health nutritionists and other community stakeholders. We recommend using all five classes of indicator together to ensure a complete assessment of the full breadth of food security. This model will be useful for Canadian health authorities wishing to take a holistic community-based approach to public health nutrition to develop more effective policies and programs to maximize food security. The model and indicators offer a rational process that could be useful for collaborative multi-stakeholder initiatives to improve food security.
Rideout
Karen
K
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. krideout@interchange.ubc.ca
Seed
Barbara
B
Ostry
Aleck
A
D002170:Canada; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005523:Food Supply / Q000592:standards*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D017146:Models, Organizational; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011634:Public Health / Q000639:trends*; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations