Aligning Programs and Policies to Support Food Security and Public Health Goals in the United States

Abstract

Food insecurity 1 in 8 US households and has clear implications for population health disparities. We present a person-centered, multilevel framework for understanding how individuals living in food-insecure households cope with inadequate access to food themselves and within their households, communities, and broader food system. Many of these coping strategies can have an adverse impact on health, particularly when the cop strategies are sustained over time; others may be salutary for health. tat multiple opportunities for aligning programs and policies so that they ultaneously support food security and improved diet quality in the interest of supporting improved health outcomes. Improved access to these programs and policies may reduce the need to rely on individual- and household-level strategies that may have negative implications for health across the life course.