Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Food insecurity occurs when people or families lack affordable, accessible, and nutritious food. This may occur for many reasons, including lack of money to purchase quality food, and adverse physical or mental health problems which prevent access to food. People who live in social housing often experience food insecurity, even though there are some food security programs in place to prevent this. Food insecurity can have serious health consequences: it has been linked to diabetes and obesity, and it can worsen other physical and mental health issues. However, food insecurity can also be caused by health problems. This research project investigates how the health problems of social housing residents affect their ability to access nutritious food, and whether their neighbourhood and housing situation affects this relationship. For example, the availability of a community kitchen and storage facilities, or the proximity of a good grocery store or food bank might affect whether people are able to eat well, especially if they are already ill and having trouble accessing food. This study will identify what neighbourhood and housing environments contribute to the reduction of food insecurity, and how food and housing programs can further support people living in social housing to eat healthily.