Socio-economic Status, Food Security Status and its Coping Strategies among ‘The Lost Food Project’ (TLFP) Recipients in Klang Valley during COVID-19 Pandemic
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Abstract
Introduction: The Lost Food Project (TLFP) is a non-profit organization who continuously working on their strategic plan in combating the food insecurity problem by distributing food surplus to low income households within Klang Valley. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the socioeconomic status, food security status and its coping strategies among TLFP recipients in Klang Valley during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was conducted from April to June 2021. There were 88 respondents recruited through convenience sampling. A set of question- naires regarding food assistance, nutrition knowledge, food security and its coping strategies was prepared, and the respondents were interviewed either by phone, face-to-face or self-administered questionnaire. Results: The preva- lence of food insecurity among households in this study was 59.1%. Most of them have moderate (37.5%) to good (27.5%) nutrition knowledge. The coping strategy that most of the respondents applied was ‘using less expensive food’ (58.3%) with at least once per week within the past one month. Food insecure households tend to adopt more coping strategies compared to those food secure households (p<0.001). Moreover, households who rent their house (p<0.01), low household income (p<0.05) and high monthly food and drinks expenditure (p<0.01) were associated with the food insecurity among TLFP recipients. Conclusion: The study concluded that lower household income, higher food and drinks expenditure and those who rent the house have negative impacts on household’s food secu- rity status. Thus, the situation forced them to apply more food-related coping strategies in their daily life. Further re- search should be conducted on the effectiveness of TLFP in helping them to improve Malaysian’s food security status.
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