La vulnérabilité des ménages à l'insécurité alimentaire

Abstract

To explain how and why food insecurity occurs in families in our society, we conducted a qualitative study using taped focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews. Data were gathered in 1996 through a purposive sample study of 98 members of low-income and very low-income households in twelve urban and rural municipalites in and around Quebec City. A questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics and the Radimer/Cornell Hunger and Food Insecurity Measures Index were also administered to respondents. Based on an analysis of the content of the data, we constructed a model depicting major elements of vulnerability to food insecurity. Analysis of these elements showed that the food insecurity of a household can be explained both by elements of risks and by the capacity to face those risks. Within the range of income levels examined, significant risks included lack of income; living in an apartment or in an urban area; underlying problems related to means of livelihood, including chronic lack of money and budgetary problems such as debts; loss of employment; and negative events that cause a loss of income. Important protective factors that could offset risks comprised financial capital such as owning a house and having savings, human capital such as health and previous experience, as well as appropriate management practices for household resources.