Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Adults’ food skills and use of gardens are not associated with household food insecurity in Canada

  • Quantitative Research
  • Published:
Canadian Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent to which Canadian adults’ food preparation and cooking skills and use of home or community gardens relate to their household food insecurity status; and to compare the food shopping and cooking behaviours of adults in food-secure and food-insecure households.

METHODS: Data were drawn from two Rapid Response Modules appended to the Canadian Community Health Survey in 2012 and 201 3. The analytic sample comprised 16,496 respondents 18 years and older. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between food insecurity and adults’ self-rated cooking abilities, food preparation skills score, use of gardens, food shopping behaviours, and cooking behaviours, while adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics.

RESULTS: Adults in food-insecure households did not differ significantly from others with respect to their food preparation skills or cooking ability, and neither variable predicted the odds of household food insecurity when socio-demographic characteristics were taken into account. Adults in food-insecure households were less likely to use a garden for food, but gardening was unrelated to the odds of food insecurity. Shopping with a budget was more common among adults in food-insecure households, but no other differences in food shopping behaviours were observed after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. Adults in food-insecure households were as likely as others to adjust recipes to make them healthier, but they had higher odds of adjusting recipes to reduce their fat content.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that household food insecurity in Canada is not a problem of insufficient food skills.

Résumé

OBJECTIFS: Déterminer la mesure dans laquelle les habiletés des adultes canadiens à préparer des aliments, à cuisiner et à utiliser des jardins privés ou communautaires sont liées au statut d’insécurité alimentaire du ménage; et comparer les habitudes de cuisine et d’achat de produits d’épicerie des adultes de ménages aux prises ou non avec l’insécurité alimentaire.

MÉTHODE: Nos données proviennent de deux „modules réponse rapide” annexés à l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes en 2012 et en 2013. L’échantillon d’analyse comptait 16 496 répondants de 18 ans et plus. Nous avons mené des analyses de régression logistique multivariées pour déterminer l’association entre l’insécurité alimentaire et les habiletés à cuisiner, la note d’habileté à préparer des repas, l’utilisation de jardins, les habitudes d’achat de produits d’épicerie et les habitudes de cuisine autodéclarées par les adultes, tout en tenant compte des caractéristiques sociodémographiques.

RÉSULTATS: Les adultes des ménages aux prises avec l’insécurité alimentaire n’étaient pas sensiblement différents des autres en ce qui a trait à leur habileté à préparer des repas ou à cuisiner, et ni l’une ni l’autre de ces variables ne prédisait la probabilité d’insécurité alimentaire du ménage lorsque les caractéristiques sociodémographiques étaient prises en compte. Les adultes des ménages aux prises avec l’insécurité alimentaire étaient moins susceptibles de jardiner pour s’alimenter, mais le jardinage n’était pas lié à la probabilité d’insécurité alimentaire. Magasiner avec un budget était plus courant chez les adultes des ménages aux prises avec l’insécurité alimentaire, mais aucune autre différence n’a été observée dans les habitudes de magasinage lorsque les caractéristiques sociodémographiques étaient prises en compte. Les adultes des ménages aux prises avec l’insécurité alimentaire étaient aussi susceptibles que les autres d’adapter des recettes pour les rendre plus saines, mais ils avaient une probabilité plus élevée d’adapter des recettes pour réduire leur teneur en matières grasses.

CONCLUSION: Nos constatations indiquent que l’insécurité alimentaire des ménages au Canada n’est pas un problème de compétences alimentaires insuffisantes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tarasuk V, Mitchell A, Dachner N. Household Food Insecurity in Canada, 2012. Toronto, ON: Research to Identify Policy Options to Reduce Food Insecurity (PROOF), 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Tarasuk V, Cheng J, de Oliveira C, Dachner N, Gundersen C, Kurdyak P. Association between household food insecurity and annual health care costs. Can Medl Assoc J 2015;187(14):E429–36. PMID: 26261199. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.150234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Emery JH, Fleisch V, McIntyre L. How a guaranteed annual income could put food banks out of business. SPP Res Papers 2013;6(37):1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ionescu-Itu R, Glymour MM, Kaufman JS. A difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of income-supplementation on food insecurity. Prev Med 2015;70:108–16. PMID: 25475685. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.11.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mclntyre L, Pow J, Emery J. A path analysis of recurrently food-insecure Canadians discerns employment, income, and negative health effects. J Pov 2015;19:71–87. doi: 10.1080/10875549.2014.979462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Loopstra R, Dachner N, Tarasuk V. An exploration of the unprecedented decline in the prevalence of household food insecurity in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2007–2012. Can Public Policy 2015;41(3):191–206. doi: 10.3138/cpp.2014-080.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Loopstra R, Tarasuk V. Severity of household food insecurity is sensitive to change in household income and employment status among low-income families. J Nutr 2013;143:1316–23. PMID: 23761648. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.175414.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Chenhall C. Improving Cooking and Food Preparation Skills: A Profile of Promising Practices in Canada and Abroad. Healthy Living Issue Group, Pan-Canadian Public Health Network, 2010. Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/child-enfant/cfps-acc-profil-apercu-eng.php (Accessed March 9, 2016).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hamelin AM, Mercier C, Bedard A. Discrepancies in households and other stakeholders viewpoints on the food security experience: A gap to address. Health Educ Res 2010;25(3):401–12. PMID: 19564176. doi: 10.1093/her/cyp033.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Howard A, Edge J. Enough for All: Household Food Security in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Conference Board of Canada, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Pepin-Filion D, Tranchant C, Forgues E, Carrier N, LeBlanc C, LeBlanc J. Food Security and Insecurity in New Brunswick: Portrait, Challenges, and Perspectives. Moncton, NB: Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Desjardins E. “Making Something Out of Nothing”: Food Literacy among Youth, Young Pregnant Women and Young Parents Who Are at Risk for Poor Health. Public Health Ontario, Locally Driven Collaborative Projects (LDCP), 2013. Available at: http://foodsecurecanada.org/sites/default/files/report_ldcp_foodskills_dec2013.final5_.pdf (Accessed August 2, 2016).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Dachner N, Ricciuto L, Kirkpatrick S, Tarasuk V. Food purchasing and food insecurity among low-income families in Toronto. Can J Diet Pract Res 2010; 71(3):e50–e56. PMID: 20825694. doi: 10.3148/71.3.2010.127.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Engler-Stringer R. Food selection and preparation practices in a group of young low-income women in Montreal. Appetite 2011;56:118–21. PMID: 21145934. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.12.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Hamelin AM, Mercier C, Bedard A. Perceptions of needs and responses in food security: Divergence between households and stakeholders. Public Health Nutr 2008;11(12):1389–96. PMID: 18761760. doi: 10.1017/S1368980008003406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Williams PL, Macaulay R, Anderson BJ, Barro K, Gillis DE, Johnson CP, et al. “I would have never thought that I would be in such a predicament”: Voices from women experiencing food insecurity in Nova Scotia, Canada. J Hunger Environ Nutr 2012;7:253–70. doi: 10.1080/19320248.2012.704740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Engler-Stringer R, Berenbaum S. Exploring food security with collective kitchens participants in three Canadian cities. Qual Health Res 2007;17(1):75–84. PMID: 17170245. doi: 10.1177/1049732306296451.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Eicher-Miller H, Mason A, Abbott A, McCabe G, Boushey C. The effect of food stamp nutrition education on the food insecurity of low-income women participants. J Nutr Educ Behav 2009;41:161–68. PMID: 19411049. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2008.06.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Flynn M, Reinert S, Schiff A. A six-week cooking program of plant-based recipes improves food security, body weight, and food purchases for food pantry clients. J Hunger Environ Nutr 2013;8(1):73–84. doi: 10.1080/19320248.2012.758066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kaiser L, Chaidez V, Algert S, Horowitz M, Martin A, Mendoza C, et al. Food resource management education with SNAP participation improves food security. J Nutr Educ Behav 2015;47(4):374–78.e1. PMID: 25843204. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2015.01.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey - Annual Component (CCHS), 2012. Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl? Function=getSurvey&SurvId=50653&InstaId=135927&SDDS=3226 (Accessed February 3, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Health Canada. A Look at Food Skills in Canada. 2015. Available at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/sc-hc/H164-188-2015-eng.pdf (Accessed January 21, 2016).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Health Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004) - Income-Related Household Food Security in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hamelin AM, Mercier C, Bedard A. Needs for food security from the standpoint of Canadian households participating and not participating in community food programmes. Int J Consum Stud 2011;35:58–68. doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00927.X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Engler-Stringer R. The domestic foodscapes of young low-income women in Montreal: cooking practices in the context of an increasingly processed food supply. Health Educ Behav 2010;37(2):211–26. PMID: 19690290. doi: 10.1177/1090198109339453.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. CoDyre M, Fraser E, Landman K. How does your garden grow? An empirical evaluation of the costs and potential of urban gardening. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 2015;14:72–79. doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2014.11.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gaines A, Robb C, Knol L, Sickler S. Examining the role of financial factors, resources and skills in predicting food security status among college students. Int J Consum Stud 2014;38:374–84. doi: 10.1111/ijcs.l2110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Region of Waterloo Public Health. Food Skills of Waterloo Region Adults. Waterloo, ON: Region of Waterloo Public Health, 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Slater J, Mudryj A. Self-perceived eating habits and food skills of Canadians. J Nutr Educ Behav 2016;48(7):486–95.el. PMID: 27373863. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2016.04.397.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Moubarac J, Bortoletto Martins A, Claro R, Levy R, Cannon G, Monteiro C. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health. Evidence from Canada. Public Health Nutr 2013;16(12):2240–48. PMID: 23171687. doi: 10.1017/S1368980012005009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E2, Canada

    Anne Huisken MSc, Sarah K. Orr PhD & Valerie Tarasuk PhD

Authors
  1. Anne Huisken MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah K. Orr PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Valerie Tarasuk PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Valerie Tarasuk PhD.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: This research was supported by a Programmatic Grant in Health and Health Equity, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (FRN 115208). Orr was supported by a CIHR Fellowship Award.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huisken, A., Orr, S.K. & Tarasuk, V. Adults’ food skills and use of gardens are not associated with household food insecurity in Canada. Can J Public Health 107, e526–e532 (2016). https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.107.5692

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.107.5692

Key Words

Mots Clés

Search

Navigation