Food security status of households with children aged 0-10 in an urban poor community in Quezon City, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects such as community restrictions, lockdowns, and unemployment have greatly affected the household food security status in urban poor communities leading to poor accessibility of sufficient nutritious food and subsequently affecting the nutrition of children.

Objectives: This present study aims to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity in households with children aged 0-10 amid the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban poor community in Quezon City.

Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done to evaluate the food security status and experiences of households amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: A total of 405 households were surveyed to answer questions designed to determine their general profile relative to their food security experiences during the pandemic. It was observed that the majority of the households in the urban poor community belong to Class D earning between PhP 8,001.00 - PhP 15,000.00. The heads of these households as well as caregivers mostly belong to the high school graduate level. Based on the conducted survey, it was revealed that 59.5% of the households were severely food insecure (90% CI: 55.4-63.4) and only 4.2% ( 90% CI: 2.8-6.2) were food secure.

Conclusion: The prevalence of food insecurity in the urban poor community is determined to be high, with 31.6% households having moderate food insecurity, while only 4.2% households are food secure. The majority of surveyed households were anxious and uncertain about their food supply, and also reported experiencing varying levels of food insecurity related to sufficiency of food quality.