How older households manage food insecurity with food production activities

Abstract

Household food insecurity is a concern in the US given the negative effects associated with food insecurity. An interesting finding is that elderly households tend to be more food secure than younger households, even though many are on fixed income. A relevant question is what might elderly households be doing that is resulting in greater food security? One potential explanation is that in retirement, elderly households can invest in more time intensive activities that provide greater food security. In this study, we combine time use diaries with food security surveys to examine whether time spent on food production is associated with lower levels of food insecurity for elderly households. The data show that time spent in meal preparation and eating is increasing with older age cohorts. At the same time, food insecurity is declining steadily with older households. Grocery shopping and non-grocery food shopping do not show any relevant trends. Comparing households above and below 70 years of age, we find that time spent in food production does not explain differences in household level food insecurity.