IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joimai/v20y2019i2d10.1007_s12134-018-0613-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Experience of Food Insecurity Among Immigrants: a Scoping Review

Author

Listed:
  • Merryn Maynard

    (Meal Exchange)

  • Jennifer Dean

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Paulina I. Rodriguez

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Gobika Sriranganathan

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Mona Qutub

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Sharon I. Kirkpatrick

    (University of Waterloo)

Abstract

Rates of household food insecurity among immigrant populations in Canada and the USA suggest high vulnerability, yet the experience of food insecurity within these groups is not well understood. This scoping review was undertaken to examine the state of knowledge and gaps in the evidence on food insecurity among immigrants in high-income nations. A systematic search for studies carried out in Canada, the USA, Australia, and the UK and published between January 1996 and January 2016 was conducted using the CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. Records were screened for relevance using predetermined inclusion criteria; 36 articles examining food insecurity among immigrant populations, primarily in the USA with three studies conducted in Canada, were identified. Overall, the literature suggests high rates of food insecurity among immigrant compared to nonimmigrant populations. Factors associated with food insecurity are largely consistent with those conceptualized in other populations (e.g., relating to financial sufficiency) but also include cultural considerations and access to immigration documentation. High-quality longitudinal and in-depth qualitative research could help to shed light on the directionality of relationships between food insecurity and hypothesized risk factors and consequences, but in the meantime, attention to problems of constrained food access among immigrants is increasingly important as rates of global migration rise in response to threats posed by climate change, economic instability, and social inequalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Merryn Maynard & Jennifer Dean & Paulina I. Rodriguez & Gobika Sriranganathan & Mona Qutub & Sharon I. Kirkpatrick, 2019. "The Experience of Food Insecurity Among Immigrants: a Scoping Review," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 375-417, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:20:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s12134-018-0613-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-018-0613-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12134-018-0613-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12134-018-0613-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Borjas, George J., 2004. "Food insecurity and public assistance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1421-1443, July.
    2. Craig Gundersen & Victor Oliveira, 2001. "The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 875-887.
    3. Unknown, 2016. "Department Publications 2014," Publications Lists 239845, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    4. Ip, E.H. & Saldana, S. & Arcury, T.A. & Grzywacz, J.G. & Trejo, G. & Quandt, S.A., 2015. "Profiles of food security for US farmworker households and factors related to dynamic of change," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(10), pages 42-47.
    5. Matthew Hall, 2013. "Residential Integration on the New Frontier: Immigrant Segregation in Established and New Destinations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1873-1896, October.
    6. Bowleg, L., 2012. "The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality-an important theoretical framework for public health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(7), pages 1267-1273.
    7. Chilton, M. & Black, M.M. & Berkowitz, C. & Casey, P.H. & Cook, J. & Cutts, D. & Jacobs, R.R. & Heeren, T. & De Cuba, S.E. & Coleman, S. & Meyers, A. & Frank, D.A., 2009. "Food insecurity and risk of poor health among US-born children of immigrants," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(3), pages 556-562.
    8. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2017. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2016," Economic Research Report 291968, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Dean, Jennifer Asanin & Wilson, Kathi, 2010. ""My health has improved because I always have everything I need here...": A qualitative exploration of health improvement and decline among immigrants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1219-1228, April.
    10. Kasper, J. & Gupta, S.K. & Tran, P. & Cook, J.T. & Meyers, A.F., 2000. "Hunger in legal immigrants in California, Texas, and Illinois," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 90(10), pages 1629-1633.
    11. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Smith, Michael D. & Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, 2016. "Food Security Among Hispanic Adults in the United States, 2011-2014," Economic Information Bulletin 262144, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Megan A. Carney & Keegan C. Krause, 2020. "Immigration/migration and healthy publics: the threat of food insecurity," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Zahra Goliaei & Mariaelena Gonzalez & Karina Diaz Rios & Mamata Pokhrel & Nancy J. Burke, 2023. "Post-Resettlement Food Insecurity: Afghan Refugees and Challenges of the New Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-11, May.
    3. Joshua Berning & Caroline Norris & Rebecca Cleary, 2023. "Food insecurity among immigrant populations in the United States," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 41-57, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana McCormick Myers & Matthew A. Painter, 2017. "Food insecurity in the United States of America: an examination of race/ethnicity and nativity," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1419-1432, December.
    2. Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    3. Gundersen, Craig & Jolliffe, Dean & Tiehen, Laura, 2009. "The challenge of program evaluation: When increasing program participation decreases the relative well-being of participants," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 367-376, August.
    4. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider, 2008. "Food Stamps and Food Insecurity: What Can Be Learned in the Presence of Nonclassical Measurement Error?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(2), pages 352-382.
    5. Swann, Christopher A., 2017. "Household history, SNAP participation, and food insecurity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Elton Mykerezi & Bradford Mills, 2010. "The Impact of Food Stamp Program Participation on Household Food Insecurity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1379-1391.
    7. Davis, David & Huang, Rui, 2013. "The Effect of SNAP Benefits for Food Insecurity," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149827, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Dharmasena, Senarath & Bessler, David A. & Capps, Oral, 2016. "Food environment in the United States as a complex economic system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 163-175.
    9. repec:mpr:mprres:8084 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Craig Gundersen & David Ribar, 2011. "Food Insecurity And Insufficiency At Low Levels Of Food Expenditures," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(4), pages 704-726, December.
    11. Irma Arteaga & Colleen Heflin & Leslie Hodges, 2018. "SNAP Benefits and Pregnancy-Related Emergency Room Visits," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 1031-1052, December.
    12. Helen H. Jensen & Brent Kreider & Oleksandr Zhylyevskyy, 2019. "Investigating Treatment Effects of Participating Jointly in SNAP and WIC when the Treatment Is Validated Only for SNAP," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 124-155, July.
    13. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2020. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2019," Economic Research Report 327207, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Smith, Michael D. & Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, 2016. "Food Security Among Hispanic Adults in the United States, 2011-2014," Economic Information Bulletin 262144, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    15. Joshua Berning & Caroline Norris & Rebecca Cleary, 2023. "Food insecurity among immigrant populations in the United States," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 41-57, February.
    16. Richard A. DePolt & Robert A. Moffitt & David C. Ribar, 2009. "Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance For Needy Families And Food Hardships In Three American Cities," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(4), pages 445-473, October.
    17. Sonya Kostova Huffman & Helen H. Jensen, 2008. "Food Assistance Programs and Outcomes in the Context of Welfare Reform," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(1), pages 95-115, March.
    18. Seungyeon Cho, 2022. "The Effect of Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Food Insecurity of Children in U.S. Immigrant Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 501-510, September.
    19. Kelly Noonan & Hope Corman & Nancy E. Reichman, 2014. "Effects of Maternal Depression on Family Food Insecurity," NBER Working Papers 20113, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Wilson, Norbert L. W. & Zheng, Yuqing & Burney, Shaheer & Kaiser, Harry M., 2016. "Do Grocery Food Sales Taxes Cause Food Insecurity?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235324, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Mykerezi, Elton & Mills, Bradford F., 2009. "On Intra-Annual Poverty in the U.S.: Prevalence, Causes and Response to Food Stamp Program Use," Staff Papers 49095, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:20:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s12134-018-0613-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.