Aleen Jude

Both food insecurity and language spoken at home can impact home food availability (the food an individual has available in their home). Home food availability is strongly associated with the food ultimately consumed by individuals, which has significant implications for the long-term health outcomes of individuals. Given the growing prevalence of food insecurity after COVID-19, and the high proportion of Spanish-speaking individuals in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, a current understanding of food insecurity and its relationship to home food availability in the Twin Cities for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking individuals is essential for monitoring changes that could impact future community health outcomes. In order to assess the effects of food insecurity and language spoken at home on home food availability, univariate and multivariate linear regressions between home food availability, food insecurity, and language spoken at home were conducted. Findings showed that food security is associated with higher availability of all food categories, which suggests that higher food security leads to more food available in the home in general. Additionally, when compared to Spanish speakers, English speakers had higher obesogenic, ultra-processed, and sodium availability scores, but lower vegetable and fruit availability scores. This appears to corroborate previous studies that found that Hispanic individuals have higher fruit and vegetable consumption compared to Black and White individuals and that acculturation of Spanish-speaking Hispanic individuals leads to less fruits and vegetables available in the home. Possible interventions to improve access to fruits and vegetables include providing closer and more affordable healthy food options for food insecure individuals, as well as consumer education on healthy food behaviors and the importance of having fruits and vegetables available in the home targeted towards English speakers.