It's one thing to be hungry. It's another to be malnourished. Now the impact of food insecurity and nutrition insecurity on different LA County populations is the focus of new research from the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.
"We don't just ask people: Did they not have enough food? Are they skipping meals? Or are they going hungry? But we really asked them about whether or not they can access food that helps them live a healthy life that's in line with their dietary and cultural preferences,” says Kayla de la Haye, professor of psychology and spatial sciences at USC.
She adds, “What we eat is actually the leading cause of death for folks in LA County — because of diseases like diabetes and heart disease. … Asian residents were more likely to be nutrition insecure, but didn't have a higher risk for food insecurity. And it was the opposite for Latino residents — they had a higher risk for food insecurity, but had average risk for nutrition insecurity.”
Closures of Asian grocery stores, particularly in Chinatown, have contributed to this insecurity, she notes. “One of the reasons we think is driving this is that some of these Asian residents in our community do have a harder time finding grocery stores in places that have the foods that they prefer for their health and their preferences.”
The researchers have shared this data with the LA County Department of Public Health, which started tracking nutrition insecurity in 2023.
“These are somewhat different groups. And they require somewhat different solutions that line up with what they're looking for. And that might be investing in grants and programs that help food retailers do that sort of work,” De la Haye says.
