In a new JAFSCD article, “Public assistance, living environments, and food insecurity: A comparative community case study,” Bezuneh and Yiheyis present preliminary findings on the relationships among public assistance, living environments, and the status of food security/insecurity from an exploratory study into public assisted urban based communities in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. More specifically, this research attempted to explore the effects of nonhousing public assistance on low-income households living in two different environments: traditional public housing and mixed-income housing. The analysis is based on primary data collected by conducting a modified version of the U.S. household food security module survey in the two communities. As the authors discuss, the driving force for their research is this question: Does living in a mixed-income-households environment make a difference in the status of food security or insecurity?
KEY FINDINGS
Despite receipt of government assistance, a substantial percentage of the sample households remained food insecure.
Nonhousing government assistance appeared to improve the probability of being food secure, as it interacted with living environments, suggesting a greater beneficial effect in the environment of mixed income housing.
Nonhousing public assistance would probably reduce the concentration of events of food deprivation if it were disbursed at shorter intervals.
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Living in a mixed-income setting appears to be associated with a lower degree of food insecurity, providing another justification for the shift in emphasis from traditional public housing to mixed-income housing.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH
The authors recommend a more robust study based on a larger sample size from each type of community in order to make stronger generalizations about the effects of living environment on food insecurity and to make conclusive policy recommendations on the level, types, and timing of assistance.
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By asking the question 'Does living in a mixed-income-households environment make a difference in the status of food security or insecurity?' Authors Mesfin Bezuneh and Zelealem Yiheyis of Atlanta University, explore the correlation between public housing assistance, urban living environments and food insecurity. Read for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.132.013
