A desktop review to inform the development of the Tasmanian Food Relief to Food Resilience Action Plan 2023-2025 revealed that women are more likely to experience food insecurity than men and tend to access food relief at a much higher rate.
Events that make women susceptible to food stress are also different to those for men. Women are significantly more likely at some time in their lives to have experienced domestic violence or financial abuse or to have raised children on their own for an extended time. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to have been unable to find a job for a lengthy period.
The desktop research also revealed the strong links between food insecurity and breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates, which in turn have significant impacts on child and maternal health.
References:
Foodbank Australia. (2019). Foodbank Hunger Report 2019.
Frazier, C. M., Dharod, J., Labban, J., Raynor, A. N., Villasenor, M., Hernandez, M., Ramos-Castillo, I. (2023). Breastfeeding: How is it related to food insecurity and other factors among low-income mothers? Health Care for Women International.
