Associations between food-related concerns, food security status and food support use: a secondary analysis of the Food and You 2: Wave 6 dataset

Food insecurity is a major public health concern. However, little is known about how food security status differentially affects food-related concerns. To address this, the current pre-registered (https://osf.io/zd3ak) study conducted cross-sectional secondary analyses of Wave 6 (October 2022 – January 2023) of the Food and You 2 survey administered in adults aged 16 years and over across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (N=2315). Exploratory analyses also identified characteristics of food support users (food bank or social supermarket; N=467) and quantified associations between food support use and the same food-related concerns. People experiencing marginal (OR=1.43, p=0.02) and low food security (OR=1.51, p=0.02) (relative to high food security) were significantly more concerned about food prices, but this association was not seen in people experiencing very low food security. Additionally, people experiencing marginal (OR=0.74, p=0.03), low (OR=0.67, p=0.01) and very low (OR=0.66, p=0.01) food security were less concerned about food waste. Both food bank and social supermarket use were predicted by very low food security (food bank OR=6.05, p<0.001; social supermarket OR=2.40, p=0.02) and having a long-term health condition (food bank OR=3.91, p=0.00; social supermarket OR=3.17, p=0.00). Food bank users were less concerned about being able to eat healthily (OR=0.33, p=0.00) whereas social supermarket users were less concerned about food prices (relative to non-users) (OR=0.40, p=0.01). Food-related concerns, particularly regarding food prices, are differentially associated with food security status and food support use. Findings could support specific interventions and tailored support to promote health and well-being in populations experiencing food insecurity.