Exploring Barriers to Food Security Among Immigrants: A Critical Role for Public Health Nutrition

Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
11 January 2022

Abstract

Upon moving to a new country and new food environment, 2 important public health issues may be experienced by immigrants as they adapt to their new country of residence, namely a higher prevalence of food insecurity and/or a decline in overall health over time postimmigration. Therefore, improving the food environment experienced by new migrants may be an effective strategy to reduce long-term health complications and improve well-being postimmigration. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential barriers experienced by new immigrants in the access, availability, and utilization of familiar culturally appropriate foods and the subsequent impact on their food security status. Culturally appropriate foods are foods commonly consumed as part of cultural food traditions and are often staples within the diet; however, limited availability of and/or access to these foods can reduce food security. By understanding the barriers to food security and challenges that may be faced by immigrants and refugees, dietitians will be better equipped to assist these individuals in accessing culturally familiar foods and improve quality of life. In this capacity, dietitians can play a critical public health nutrition role by serving as a conduit for new immigrants to access community resources and navigate a new food environment.

Résumé

Lorsqu’ils s’installent dans un nouveau pays et dans un nouvel environnement alimentaire, les immigrants peuvent être confrontés à 2 problèmes de santé publique importants alors qu’ils s’adaptent à leur nouveau pays de résidence : une prévalence plus élevée d’insécurité alimentaire et/ou un déclin de leur santé globale après l’immigration. Ainsi, améliorer l’environnement alimentaire des nouveaux arrivants peut être une stratégie efficace pour réduire les complications à long terme en lien avec la santé et améliorer le bien-être après l’immigration. L’objectif de cet article est de discuter des obstacles potentiels que rencontrent les nouveaux immigrants quant à l’accès, à la disponibilité et à l’utilisation d’aliments familiers culturellement adéquats, et de l’impact subséquent sur leur situation en matière de sécurité alimentaire. Les aliments culturellement adéquats sont des aliments couramment consommés dans le contexte de traditions alimentaires culturelles et servent souvent d’aliments de base dans le régime alimentaire. Or, l’accessibilité limitée à ces aliments peut réduire la sécurité alimentaire. En comprenant les obstacles à la sécurité alimentaire et les défis auxquels peuvent être confrontés les immigrants et les réfugiés, les diététistes disposeront de meilleurs outils pour aider ces personnes à accéder à des aliments familiers sur le plan culturel et à améliorer leur qualité de vie. À ce titre, les diététistes peuvent jouer un rôle essentiel dans la nutrition en santé publique en permettant aux nouveaux immigrants d’accéder aux ressources communautaires et de se retrouver dans leur nouvel environnement alimentaire.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Financial support: None to declare.
Conflicts of interest: The authors state that there are no conflicts of interest.

References

1
Vahabi M and Damba C. Perceived barriers in accessing food among recent Latin American immigrants in Toronto. Int J Equity Health. 2013 Jan;12(1):1.
2
World Food Programme Food Security Analysis [Internet]. United Nations World Food Programme. [cited 2019 July 21]. Available from: https://www.wfp.org/food-security-analysis.
3
Lawlis T, Islam W, and Upton P. Achieving the four dimensions of food security for resettled refugees in Australia: A systematic review. Nutr Diet. 2018 Apr;75(2):182–192.
4
Moffat T, Mohammed C, and Newbold KB. Cultural dimensions of food insecurity among immigrants and refugees. Hum Organ. 2017 Mar;76(1):15–27.
5
Health Canada. Household food insecurity in Canada statistics and graphics (2011 to 2012); 2017 [cited 2019 July 24]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrition-science-research/food-security/household-food-security-statistics-2011-2012.html.
6
United Nations Definitions | Refugees and Migrants [Internet]. United Nations. 2019 [cited 2019 July 5]. Available from: https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/definitions.
7
Setia MS, Quesnel-Vallee A, Abrahamowicz M, Tousignant P, and Lynch J. Convergence of body mass index of immigrants to the Canadian-born population: Evidence from the National Population Health Survey (1994–2006). Eur J Epidemiol. 2009 Oct;24(10):611–623.
8
Sanou D, O’Reilly E, Ngnie-Teta I, Batal M, Mondain N, Andrew C, et al. Acculturation and nutritional health of immigrants in Canada: A scoping review. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014 Feb;16(1):24–34.
9
Vang ZM, Sigouin J, Flenon A, and Gagnon A. Are immigrants healthier than native-born Canadians? A systematic review of the healthy immigrant effect in Canada. Ethn Health. 2016 Nov;22(3):209–241.
10
Briones Alonso E, Cockx L, and Swinnen J. Culture and food security. Glob Food Sec. 2018 Jun;17:113–127.
11
Girard A and Sercia P. Immigration and food insecurity: Social and nutritional issues for recent immigrants in Montreal, Canada. Int J Migr Health Soc Care. 2013 Mar 22;9(1):32–45.
12
McElrone M, Colby SE, Moret L, Kavanagh K, Spence M, Fouts HN, et al. Barriers and facilitators to food security among adult Burundian and Congolese refugee females resettled in the US. Ecol Food Nutr. 2019 Apr;58(3):247–264.
13
Wang Y, Min J, Harris K, Khuri J, and Anderson LM. A systematic examination of food intake and adaptation to the food environment by refugees settled in the United States. Adv Nutr. 2016 Nov;7(6):1066–1079.
14
McKay FH and Dunn M. Food security among asylum seekers in Melbourne. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2015 Aug;39(4):344–349.
15
Vallianatos H and Raine K. Consuming food and constructing identities among Arabic and South Asian immigrant women. Food Cult Soc. 2008 Sep;11(3):355–373.
16
Gallegos D, Ellies P, and Wright J. Still there’s no food! Food insecurity in a refugee population in Perth, Western Australia. Nutr Diet. 2008 Mar;65(1):78–83.
17
Hadley C, Patil CL, and Nahayo D. Difficulty in the food environment and the experience of food insecurity among refugees resettled in the United States. Ecol Food Nutr. 2010 Sep 15;49(5):390–407.
18
Rodriguez PI, Dean J, Kirkpatrick S, Berbary L, and Scott S. Exploring experiences of the food environment among immigrants living in the region of Waterloo, Ontario. Can J Public Health. 2016 Jun 9;107:eS53.
19
Munger AL, Lloyd TDS, Speirs KE, Riera KC, and Grutzmacher SK. More than just not enough: Experiences of food insecurity for Latino immigrants. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015 Oct;17(5):1548–1556.
20
Patil CL, McGown M, Nahayo PD, and Hadley C. Forced migration: Complexities in food and health for refugees resettled in the United States. NAPA Bull. 2010 Nov;34(1):141–160.
21
Carney PA, Hamada JL, Rdesinski R, Sprager L, Nichols KR, Liu BY, et al. Impact of a community gardening project on vegetable intake, food security and family relationships: A community-based participatory research study. J Community Health. 2012 Aug;37(4):874–881.
22
Harris N, Minniss F, and Somerset S. Refugees connecting with a new country through community food gardening. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Sep 5;11(9):9202–9216.
23
Tarasuk V, Fafard St-Germain A-A, and Loopstra R. The relationship between food banks and food insecurity: Insights from Canada. Voluntas. 2020 Jan;31:841–852.
24
Hammelman C. Investigating connectivity in the urban food landscapes of migrant women facing food insecurity in Washington, DC. Health Place. 2018 Mar;50:89–97.
25
Dweba TP, Oguttu WJ, and Mbajiorgu CA. Factors influencing dietary choices of immigrants upon resettlement in host countries: A scoping review. Appl Ecol Environ Res. 2018;16(2):1329–1351.
26
Higashi RT, Lee SC, Pezzia C, Quirk L, Leonard T, and Pruitt SL. Family and social context contributes to the interplay of economic insecurity, food insecurity, and health. Ann Anthropol Pract. 2017 Nov;41(2):67–77.
27
Remley DT, Zubieta AC, Lambea MC, Quinonez HM, and Taylor C. Spanish- and English-speaking client perceptions of choice food pantries. J Hunger Environ Nutr. 2010 Feb 26;5(1):120–128.
28
Renzaho AMN and Mellor D. Food security measurement in cultural pluralism: Missing the point or conceptual misunderstanding? Nutrition. 2010 Jan;26(1):1–9.
29
Ramsey R, Giskes K, Turrell G, and Gallegos D. Food insecurity among adults residing in disadvantaged urban areas: Potential health and dietary consequences. Public Health Nutr. 2012 Feb;15(2):227–237.
30
Popovic-Lipovac A and Strasser B. A review on changes in food habits among immigrant women and implications for health. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015 Apr;17(2):582–590.
31
Careyva B, LaNoue M, Bangura M, de la Paz A, Gee A, Patel N, et al. The effect of living in the United States on body mass index in refugee patients. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2015;26(2):421–430.
32
Dietitians of Canada. Addressing household food insecurity in Canada: Position statement and recommendations from Dietitians of Canada. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2016 Sep;77(3):159.
33
Statistics Canada. Household food insecurity, 2017/2018 (Catalogue no. 82-625-X); 2020 [cited 2020 July 6]. Available from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-625-x/2020001/article/00001-eng.htm.
34
Polsky JY and Gilmour H. Food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics Canada Health Reports (no. 82-003-X). 2020 Dec;31(12):3–11.
35
Chatalalsingh C. Cultural competence and informed consent [Internet]. College of Dietitians of Ontario; 2013 [cited 2019 August 7]. Available from: https://www.collegeofdietitians.org/resources/client-centred-services/cultural-competence/cultural-competence-and-informed-consent-(2013).aspx.
36
Bazerghi C, McKay FH, and Dunn M. The role of food banks in addressing food insecurity: A systematic review. J Community Health. 2016 Aug;41(4):732–740.

Supplementary Material

File (cjdpr-2021-032suppla.pdf)

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 83Number 2June 2022
Pages: 68 - 74
Editor: Naomi Cahill

History

Version of record online: 11 January 2022

Key Words

  1. food insecurity
  2. immigrants
  3. culturally appropriate foods
  4. accessibility
  5. community nutrition
  6. public health nutrition

Mots-clés

  1. Insécurité alimentaire
  2. immigrants
  3. aliments culturellement adéquats
  4. accessibilité
  5. nutrition communautaire
  6. nutrition en santé publique

Authors

Affiliations

Clare E. Ramsahoi RD, MAN*
Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph ON
Sasha S. Sonny RD, MAN*
Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph ON
Jennifer M. Monk PhD
Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph ON

Notes

*
Authors contributed equally.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Other Metrics

Citations

Cite As

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

There are no citations for this item

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Subscribe

Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research

Purchase options

Purchase this article to get full access to it.

Restore your content access

Enter your email address to restore your content access:

Note: This functionality works only for purchases done as a guest. If you already have an account, log in to access the content to which you are entitled.

View options

PDF

View PDF

Full Text

View Full Text

Media

Media

Other

Tables

Share Options

Share

Share the article link

Share on social media