Food Security in a Regional Area of Australia: A Socio-economic Perspective

Abstract While Australia is considered to be a highly food-secure nation, some populations are more vulnerable to food insecurity than others and this applies to Tasmania, an island state of Australia. The aim of this study was to highlight food security issues in the two local government areas of Dorset and Clarence in Tasmania, Australia. This paper reports on the key quantitative findings of the project with a focus on food access and food utilisation, and their association with socio-economic factors. Quantitative data were collected from a total of 835 survey participants using a questionnaire developed in close consultation with service provider organizations as well as public health and nutrition experts. The study revealed 53 (6.6%) residents were at the low food security and 18 (2.1%) who literally went without food. The significant correlations between low food securit