Mothers and caregivers facing food insecurity in their families need more help than just food, researchers say

People do not experience food insecurity in the same way. Often it is mothers who are the first to change their eating habits when food runs out to protect others, especially children, from its effects.

To find out what it takes to keep everyone fed, researchers at Virginia Tech conducted a survey of low-income mothers and caregivers.

“We wanted to examine how maternal mental health was affected when food security varied within the household,” said Sarah Misyak, assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Nutrition and Exercise and associate director of the Family Nutrition Program.

“Mothers experience negative mental health outcomes from food insecurity in the household, especially if they are the ones who go without food or consume a significant portion of it. This evidence shows that a mother’s mental health suffers based on who in the household is affected by food insecurity.”

The research team included Rachel Liebe Ph.D. ’23, now in the Department of Food Sciences at Oklahoma State University, and Chanit’a Holmes, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

The research was recently published in Nutrients.

Household food insecurity hits mothers and caregivers hard, especially when it is adults who are going hungry.

“Mothers in food-insecure households had poorer mental health and had to use more coping strategies to cope with the food shortage, compared to mothers in food-secure households,” Misyak said. “They also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than those in food-secure households.”

According to the researchers, this highlights the need for strategies to help mothers or caregivers manage their mental health when someone in the household is experiencing food insecurity. In addition to nutrition education on managing food resources, additional support is needed to help mothers or caregivers with their mental health.

Food insecurity, or food security, is not a constant condition. According to the researchers, it has been shown to be more prevalent during the holidays or in the summer, when school meals are not provided.

Future research should focus on developing screening tools that can identify precisely which household members are experiencing food insecurity, Misyak said.

“This way we can connect families with the resources they need to ensure everyone has enough to eat,” she said.