Food Security
Food insecurity refers to the social and economic problem of lack of food due to resource
or other constraints. It is experienced when there is uncertainty about future food
availability and access, insufficiency in the amount and kind of food required for
health, and/or the need to use socially unacceptable ways to acquire food.
Current Novel Research Efforts
How children experience food insecurity and how to assess it in children.
Why food insecurity is so strongly associated with poor health and development outcomes.
The ways in which social and economic contexts place households at risk of food insecurity
and affect the potential to benefit from programs designed to alleviate food insecurity.
The cumulative impact of food insecurity over the life course.
How systems science can help identify opportunities to improve responses to food
insecurity.
The role of food insecurity in the development of obesity, HIV, and chronic disease
such as diabetes.
Alleviating food insecurity in seniors.
Associated Affiliate Scholars
Blake, Christine, Ph.D., RD
Draper, Carrie, MSW Fram, Maryah, Ph.D., MSW Frongillo, Edward, Ph.D. Jones, Sonya, Ph.D. Kaczynski, Andrew T., Ph.D. Liese, Angela, Ph.D. Moran, Robert, Ph.D. Probst, Jan C., Ph.D.
Younginer, Nicholas, Ph.D.
Expand all Affiliate Publications
Burke MP, Jones SJ , Frongillo EA , Blake CE , Fram MS . Parenting styles are associated with overall child dietary quality within low-income
and food-insecure households. Public Health Nutrition doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019001332, 2019.
Conroy AA, Cohen MH, Frongillo EA , Tsai AC, Wilson TE, Wentz EL, Adimora AA, Merenstein D, Ofotokun I, Metsch L, Adedimeji
A, Turan JM, Tien PC, Weiser SD. Food insecurity and violence in a prospective cohort of women at risk for or living
with HIV in the U.S. PLoS One 6;14(3):e0213365, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213365., 2019.
Escobar-Alegria JL, Frongillo EA, Blake CE . Terminal logic behavior and strategic defection of governmental officials during presidential
transitions in Guatemala: Implications for the sustainability of food and nutrition
security policy . Current Developments in Nutrition org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa161, 2020.
Frongillo EA . Advancing knowledge of how and why food insecurity is associated with poor well-being
in families and individuals across the life course. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 119:1621, 2019.
Hatcher AM, Weiser SD, Cohen CR, Hagey J, Weke E, Burger R, Wekesa P, Sheira L, Frongillo EA , Bukusi EA. Food insecurity and intimate partner violence among HIV-positive individuals in rural
Kenya. American Journal of Preventive Medicine . doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.06.025, 2020.
Liese AD , Davis RE , Diaz D, Stucker J, Reid L, Jindal M, Stancil M, Jones SJ . (2020). Experiences of Food Insecurity and Type 2 Diabetes Management in Adults , Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition .doi: 1080/19320248.2020.1826380.
Martínez-Jaikel T, Frongillo EA, Blake CE, Fram MS , Esquivel-Solís V. Reducing Both Food Insecurity and Excess Body Weight in Costa Rican Women: A Cluster
Randomized Trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2020. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2019.11.021.
Murillo-Castillo KD, Frongillo EA , Corella-Madueño MA, Quizán-Plata T. Food Insecurity Was Associated with Lower Fruits and Vegetables Consumption but Not
with Overweight and Obesity in Children from Mexican Fishing Communities. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. November 2020:1-16. doi:10.1080/03670244.2020.1737042.
Nguyen HT, Frongillo EA, Blake CE, Shapiro CJ , Frith AL. Earlier and concurrent food insecurity are associated with suboptimal parenting in
early childhood. Journal of Nutrition doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa073, 2020.
Quizán-Plata T, Carrasco-Miranda JG, Murillo-Castillo KD, Corella-Madueño MAG, López-Teros
V, Frongillo EA . Determinants and consequences of food insecurity in artisanal fishing families from
the coastal community of Sonora, Mexico. Food and Nutrition Bulletin org/10.1177/0379572120965874, 2020.
Rosemond TN , Blake CE , Shapiro CJ , Burke MP, Bernal J, Adams EJ, Frongillo EA . Disrupted relationships, chaos, and altered family meals in food-insecure households:
Experiences of caregivers and children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.05.005, 2019.
Sharpe PA, Bell BA, Liese AD, Wilcox S , Stucker J, Hutto BE. Effects of a food hub initiative in a disadvantaged community: A quasi-experimental
evaluation. Health & Place. 2020;63:102341. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102341.
Tan JY, Sheira L, Frongillo EA , Adimora A, Tien PC, Konkle-Parker D, Golub ET, Merenstein D, Levin S, Cohen M, Ofotokun
I, Fischl M, Rubin LH, Weiser SD. Food insecurity and neurocognitive function among women living with or at risk for
HIV in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa209, 2020.
Weiser SD, Sheira LA, Palar K, Kushel M, Wilson TE, Adedimeji A, Merenstein D, Cohen
M, Turan JM, Metsch L, Adimora AA, Ofotokun I, Wentz E, Tien PC, Frongillo EA. Mechanisms from Food Insecurity to Worse HIV Treatment Outcomes in US Women Living
with HIV . AIDS Patient Care STDS . 2020. doi:10.1089/apc.2020.0009
Whittle HJ, Leddy AM, Shieh J, Tien PC, Ofotokun I, Adimora AA, Turan JM, Frongillo EA , Turan B, Weiser SD. Precarity and health: Theorizing the intersection of multiple material-need insecurities,
stigma, and illness among women in the United States. Social Science & Medicine 245 : doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112683, 2019
Whittle HJ, Wolfe WR, Sheira LA, Frongillo EA , Palar K, Merenstein D, Wilson TE, Adedimeji A, Cohen MH, Wentz EL, Tien PC, Weiser
SD. Associations between food insecurity and psychotropic medication use among women living
with HIV in the United States. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 2020;29. doi:10.1017/s2045796020000232.
Young SL, Miller JD, Frongillo EA , Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Neilands TB, on behalf of the HWISE Research Coordination
Network. Validity of a four-item household water insecurity experiences scale (HWISE-4) for
assessing water issues related to health and well-being.
Research Labs, Centers, & Organizations
Community Related Organizations