MITIGATING FOOD INSECURITY-RELATED STIGMA: A REVIEW OF INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
Date
2025-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Objective: To characterize intervention strategies addressing food insecurity-related
stigma implemented in federal nutrition programs (e.g. SNAP, WIC) and emergency
food programs (e.g. food pantries, food cupboards) within high income countries.
Data Source: Six databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL,
Sociological Abstracts, Dissertations and Theses Global) and the Internet were
searched through September 2024.
Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Included articles were published in or
before September 2024, detailed intervention strategies in high income countries,
published in English, contained original research or evidence of an intervention on
food insecurity stigma.
Data Extraction: Data on study characteristics and stigma intervention characteristics
were extracted with a structured template.
Data Synthesis: Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used.
Results: The review found 46 intervention strategies across 18 articles. The majority
of articles were based in the United States (89.9%) with the remaining portion from
the United Kingdom (11.1%). Interventions most frequently targeted emergency food
(44.4% of articles, 70.3% of interventions). Interventions were most often operating at
the structural level (89.1%).
Conclusion: This review demonstrates the frequency of structural level interventions,
particularly within the emergency food setting, and the need to implement strategies
that address the everyday interactions between staff/volunteers and those seeking food
assistance.
Keywords: Stigma, Food Assistance, Food Insecurity, Interventions
Funding Acknowledgement: This paper was funded by Healthy Eating Research, a
national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.