Mississippi leads the United States in food insecurity, with 15.3% of Mississippians experiencing food insecurity in a given year. To determine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food insecurity of Mississippians, a survey containing the USDA Household Food Security Questionnaire was distributed to adult Mississippi residents. By employing the USDA Household Food Security Scale and the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Methodology, this study finds that the food insecurity rate, food insecurity gap, and squared food insecurity gap have worsened in Mississippi since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this study finds that households which were food insecure prior to March 2020 are more likely to be food insecure after March 2020, as well as households that experienced job loss after March 2020, households that do not purchase groceries online, and households where the survey respondent identifies as a minority besides Black or African American.

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Many senior citizens are surviving on minimal Social Security benefits and as a result, struggle with food security. Metrocrest Services in Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, is a non-profit organization that provides several food programs to residents of the community including some programs that are specifically tailored to the needs of senior citizens. This project was to provide Metrocrest with an assessment of the food security of their senior clientele as well as other elderly residents of the Metrocrest service area and to evaluate the current senior focused programs. The project utilized qualitative research including both Metrocrest clients and residents who were not Metrocrest clients bot whose demographics were similar. The objectives were to determine the coping skills used by senior citizens in obtaining food, to assess seniors' awareness of the programs offered by Metrocrest, to discover barriers to accessing needed resources and to make recommendations of how programs could be improved or modified if needed. Through my research, I was able to present Metrocrest with a number of recommendations to improve their existing programs. I was also able to recommend some potential new programs that could be designed in conjunction with local senior centers to better serve the community.

The objective of this research is to investigate the food security, food diversity and coping strategies used to access food in households in the Eastern Cape rural village of Timane in Idutywa, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used in which a Coping Strategy Index questionnaire designed by Maxwell and Caldwell (2008) and a HDD questionnaire was used to gather data interviewing respondents. This study was conducted in the rural community of Timane which was divided into geographical groups from which household were randomly chosen. A total of 60 adults representing 60 selected households were interviewed to provide information on household dietary diversity. Data was collected on the socio-biographic and HHD parameters of households. Data was analyzed and presented as correlation, percentages, means and SDs. Up to 72% of household received state grants and the Spearman’s correlation between number of children and HDD score was r = 0.38 while that between number of adults in households and HDD score was r = -0.93. Food security in the Timane community largely depends on state grants and HDD increases moderately with the increase in children and decreases with the increase in adults per household. The majority of the households (72%) received state grants as a source of income within which old-age pensions constitute 28% and child grants 38%. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient between the number of children in households of respondents and CSI was 0.78 (P < 001) while that between the number of adults in households and CSIS was 0.2 (P < 001). Household in the rural community of Timane community were found to be food insecure and this gets severe with the increase in the number of children in households. / Life & Consumer Sciences / M.A. (Human Ecology)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is rich in biodiversity among which are semi-domesticated vegetable species which are known as wild or indigenous vegetables. These wild indigenous vegetables have been reported to be good in nutritional qualities such as macro and micronutrients. However, there is still a high prevalence of malnutrition; especially micronutrient deficiencies among low or marginal income bracket of the population. The use of indigenous vegetables has been proposed as part of the solutions to the problems of micronutrient malnutrition among these populations. Indigenous vegetables are an important source of food in the maize based subsistence farming sector of rural South Africa. Their main role is as relish as they are used as an accompaniment for staple cereal based diets. They are also generally reported to be rich in micronutrients. Although they may be consumed in small quantities, they influence the intake of cereal staples, manage hunger and play a central role in household food security for the poorer rural groups. Mixing several indigenous vegetables species in one meal contributes to dietary diversity in terms of more vegetable types as well as in terms of choice of relish. For some very poor families indigenous vegetables are substitutes for some food crops. The seasonal occurrence of these vegetables leaves many families without a food source during the off-season. Indigenous vegetables increase agro-biodiversity at the household level. This agro-biodiversity helps in buffering against the accumulation and multiplication of pests and diseases and provides important cover for the soil. Further research on agronomic, social and economic dimensions is required to understand the roles of IV in subsistence farming systems in South Africa. The survey study revealed that indigenous vegetables were important in the diets of most rural people in the study area. They were consumed as relish although they were not being cultivated. Their method of acquisition was gathering from homesteads and the wild. These vegetables were also believed to be medicinal. The local naming of wild vegetables varied among villages in the same district such that a vegetable in one village was assigned to a different species of vegetable in another village. They were reportedly abundant during summer and there was a decrease in availability off-season leaving vulnerable people who rely on them with a food shortage. The utilisation of wild vegetables among South Africans is reported to be declining due to over reliance on introduced temperate species. Efforts to domesticate and cultivate wild vegetables could be hampered by several factors including seed dormancy and premature flowering. In this present study dormancy was observed in C. olitorius. The response of wild genotypes of C. olitorius with different seed sizes to various dry heat and hot water treatments was evaluated. Steeping seeds in boiling water (95oC) for ten seconds and soaking seeds in a hot water bath at 80oC for ten minutes resulted in the highest response to germination in this species. The study also recorded significant interactions between heat treatment and seed sizes. We concluded that C. olitorius seeds of different sizes require diverse durations of exposure to heat treatment methods to break dormancy caused by an impermeable seed coat. Cleome gynandra is another species that is consumed as a vegetable in various parts of the world including Africa. The plant is also used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of various human diseases. Among the wild vegetables, C. gynandra has been reported to flower prematurely, a phenomenon known as bolting and common in many vegetable crops. Premature flowering (bolting) can be as a response to temperature extremes and photoperiod and affects many other leafy vegetables such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa), spinach (Spinacea oleracea) and mustard rape (Brassica juncea). Bolting leads to production losses in leaf vegetable crops as they flower before they have produced an economic yield. The removal of flowers and nitrogen application resulted in significant increases in the fresh and dry weight of cleome leaves. Removal of flowers resulted in a 46% increase in fresh weight of leaves. The observed positive response of leaf yield to removal of flowers offers a possible way to deal with the problem of bolting. The continuous removal of the flowers leads to increased utilisable leaf yield. The application of incremental amounts of nitrogen top dressing results in increased leaf yield in C. gynandra. The response of selected indigenous vegetables (Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus cruentus) to micronutrients added to the soil was compared with the response of a reference crop; Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). For all the levels of micronutrients applied, Swiss chard accumulated Cu, Zn and Mn in the leaves at significantly (p<0.01) higher concentrations than the wild vegetables. Variations between the vegetables in the micronutrients were greater for Zn (72–363 ppm) and Mn (97.9–285.9 ppm) for Cu (8.8–14 ppm). C. olitorius had the least capacity to concentrate Mn and Zn in the leaf, which suggested that this vegetable is a less attractive candidate for agronomic bio-fortification of these elements. However, C. olitorius accumulated Fe at a significantly higher concentration (327 ppm) in the leaves than did Amaranthus (222 ppm) or Swiss chard (295 ppm). Sulphur as a macronutrient varied little in the plant species tested. The mean S concentration in the leaves ranged from 0.26% in C. olitorius to 0.34% in Amaranthus cruentus and Swiss chard. We concluded that the different vegetables have different abilities to take up Cu and Zn in the order Swiss chard > Amaranthus > Corchorus, and that they responded to micronutrients added to the soil but only up to certain limits of supplementation. The results from this current study seem to contradict the belief that wild vegetables have the inherent ability to concentrate mineral micronutrients in their tissue. Factors such as environment, anti-nutrients, dietary diversity, plant parts, plant age, and varieties result in differences in reported nutritional composition of indigenous vegetables. Post-harvest handling, storage, cooking and preservation also alter the composition. The need to optimise protocols for each vegetable type and for different laboratories makes analysis expensive. Equipment and methods of analysis are varied and may not be comparable, making it difficult to generalise on the composition of these vegetables. The Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and other stake holders are conducting studies on some aspects of these vegetables. There are still many information gaps regarding many aspects of these vegetables which require research attention. These include; the selection and improvement of genotypes, seed biology and germination studies, agronomic (population, fertiliser, crop mixtures) studies and phyto-chemical evaluation of these important species in order to encourage the overall use of these important indigenous resources. Finally, there is need to promote their increased utilisation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid- Afrika is ryk aan biodiversiteit waaronder half-mak groente spesies, wat as wilde of inheemse groente bekend is, voorkom. Hierdie wilde inheemse groente is aangedui om goed in voedingswaarde te wees met voldoende makro-en mikrovoedingstowwe. Daar is egter nogsteeds 'n hoë voorkoms van wanvoeding, veral tekorte aan mikronutriënte onder die lae of marginale inkomstegroep van die bevolking. Die gebruik van inheemse groente word voorgestel as deel van die oplossing van die probleem van wanvoeding onder hierdie bevolkings. Inheemse groente is 'n belangrike bron van voedsel in die mielie gebaseerde bestaansboerdery sektor van landelike Suid-Afrika. Hul vernaamste rol is as smoor waar dit gebruik word tesame met stapelvoedsel in ʼn graan-gebaseerde dieet. Hierdie groentes was oor die algemeen ook aangedui om ryk te wees in mikrovoedingstowwe. Hoewel hulle verteer kan word in klein hoeveelhede, beïnvloed hulle die inname van graan stapelvoedsel, en speel 'n sentrale rol in huishoudelike voedselsekuriteit vir die armer landelike groepe. Vermenging van verskeie inheemse groente spesies in een maaltyd dra by tot die dieet diversiteit in terme van meer groentesoorte sowel as in terme van die keuse van smaak. Vir 'n paar baie arm gesinne is inheemse groentes die plaasvervanger vir gewone groente gewasse. Die seisoenale voorkoms van hierdie groente laat baie gesinne sonder 'n bron van voedsel gedurende die af-seisoen. Inheemse groente verhoog landbou-biodiversiteit op ʼn huishoudelike vlak . Hierdie landbou-biodiversiteit help buffer teen die opbou en vermeerdering van peste en siektes en bied belangrike dekking vir die grond. Verdere navorsing op akkerbou-, maatskaplike en ekonomiese aspekte is nodig om die rolle van inheemse groentes in bestaansboerdery in Suid-Afrika te verstaan. Die studie opname het getoon dat inheemse groente belangrik was in die dieet van die meeste mense van die platteland in die studie area. Hierdie groentes was gebruik as smoor hoewel hulle nie gekweek word nie. Hul metode van verkryging is deur dit te versamel van huise en die natuur. Die groentes word ook as medisinaal beskou. Die plaaslike benaming van wilde groente het gewissel tussen dorpe in dieselfde distrik, tot so 'n mate dat die benaming van groente tussen dorpe verskil. Hulle was na bewering volop in die somer, en daar was 'n afname in die beskikbaarheid af-seisoen, wat kwesbare mense, wat staatmaak op hul voorkoms, met 'n tekort aan kos laat. Die benutting van wilde groente onder Suid-Afrikaners daal as gevolg van die afhanklikheid in nuwe spsies. Pogings om te mak en wilde groente te kweek, kan belemmer word deur verskeie faktore, insluitend saaddormansie en voortydige blom. In hierdie studie was dormansie waargeneem in C. olitorius. Die reaksie van wilde genotipes van C. olitorius met verskillende saad groottes op verskeie droë hitte en warm water behandelings, was geëvalueer. Sade was geweek in kookwater ( 95oC ) vir tien sekondes en ander in 'n warm water bad by 80oC vir tien minute, en het gelei tot die hoogste reaksie op ontkieming in hierdie spesie. Die studie het ook belangrike interaksies tussen hitte behandeling en saad groottes getoon. Ons het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat C. olitorius sade van verskillende groottes diverse duur van blootstelling vereis en ook so m.b.t. die ondeurdringbare saadhuid. Cleome gynandra is nog 'n spesie wat as 'n groente in verskeie dele van die wêreld, insluitend Afrika verbruik word. Die plant word ook gebruik as 'n medisinale plant vir die behandeling van verskeie siektes van die mens. Onder die wilde groente, was C. gynandra aangedui om vroeg te blom, 'n verskynsel wat bekend staan as “bolting” en is algemeen in baie groente gewasse. Voortydige blom (vas) kan wees as 'n reaksie op die temperatuur uiterstes en fotoperiode en raak ook baie ander groen groente soos blaarslaai (Lactuca sativa) , spinasie (Spinacea oleracea) en mosterd (Brassica juncea ) . “Bolting” lei ook tot produksie verliese in blaar groentegewasse as hulle blom voordat hulle 'n ekonomiese opbrengs opgelewer het. Die verwydering van blomme en stikstof toediening het gelei tot 'n aansienlike toename in die vars en droë gewig van Cleome blare. Verwydering van blomme het gelei tot 'n toename van 46% in vars gewig van die blare. Die waargenome positiewe reaksie van die blaar opbrengs deur verwydering van blomme bied 'n moontlike manier om die “bolting” probleem te hanteer. Die voortdurende verwydering van die blomme lei tot verhoogde bruikbare blaar opbrengs. Die toepassing van toenemende stikstof topbemesting het verhoogde blaar opbrengs in C. gynandra tot gevolg. Die reaksie van geselekteerde inheemse groente (Corchorus olitorius en Amaranthus spp ) met mikrovoedingstowwe toegevoeg tot die grond, is in vergelyk met die reaksie van 'n verwysings gewas; spinasiebeet (Beta vulgaris var cicla . ). Vir al die vlakke van mikronutriente toegepas, was die spinasiebeet opgehoopte Cu , Zn en Mn in die blare, in beduidend (p <0.01 ) hoër konsentrasies as die wilde groente.

The study aimed to investigate the hygiene quality of fresh agricultural produce, irrigation water and compost from four cooperatives (Jabulani, Nungwane, Senzakahle and Siyazenzela) supplying the uMbumbulu Agri-Hub Non-Governmental Organisation. In addition, the influence that socio-economic characteristics such as age, gender, level of education and training had on the uMbumbulu farmers’ hygienic practices was investigated. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and laboratory analysis were used to collect data. The most probable number (MPN) method, a microbiological technique, was used to quantify selected hygiene indicators (i.e. total and faecal coliforms including Escherichia coli) from compost, irrigation water and leafy vegetables (spinach and lettuce) during the months of October, November and December 2011. Microbiological analysis on lettuce and spinach produced by the four Agri-Hub cooperatives confirmed that these vegetables were safe to eat and unlikely to cause sickness. The irrigation water sources, vegetables and compost faecal coliform levels met national standards with faecal coliforms of <1 000 MPN/100ml for irrigation and<200 MPN/g for the leafy salad vegetables. Compost faecal coliform levels were <1000/g and E. coli levels of <30 MPN/g, these levels decreased over the 3 months. Descriptive statistics such as the Chi-Square test using IBM SPSS and a logistic regression was performed using the STATA 11 software. The sample consisted of 60% female and 40% males, most of which (73%) were above the age of 40. A total of 60% of respondents received income from farming activities, receiving revenues of between R150- R250 a week. The logistic regression indicated that farmers already receiving some income from farming activities and those that had received training on hygienic farming practices were likely to wash hands and equipment prior to entering the field compared to those who had not. These variables influenced the hygienic practices with a probability of 26% and 32% respectively at 5% significance level. The logistic regression also showed that respondents with primary or no formal education were less likely to wash hands and equipment prior to entering the field compared to those who had a secondary level education. This unlikelihood had a probability of 35% for primary education and 43% for farmers with no formal education at significance levels of 5% and 10% respectively. This study indicates how training, education and farming experience are important and effective tools in implementing good hygienic practices in small-scale farming. The study’s main recommendations are that policies encourage farmer awareness on their responsibility of producing vegetables that are of good hygienic quality, especially if such produce is to reach the market. Furthermore policies should advocate for small-scale farmer training. This training should not be limited to subsistence farming but should also aim at preparing farmers towards accessing produce markets. Farmer training in hygienic practices should aid farmers to meet the stringent market standards allowing for better access, the regular income from such activities support farming as a livelihood and bearer of food security. It must also be noted that farmers require support in attaining the various resources needed in order to successfully and continually supply markets. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, School of Computational and Applied Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. 10 November 2014. / This MSc thesis is aimed at assessing the food security of people actively participating in urban agriculture. In addition, it aims to assess the role of community projects that are involved in urban agricultural activities in Soweto. The fieldwork took place in five suburbs of Soweto; Meadowlands, Chiawelo, Mzimhlophe, Motswaledi and Nancefield Hostel. The findings suggest that there is a link between urban agriculture and food security in Soweto. Field based research revealed that the participants who engage in urban agricultural activities are doing so to supplement their households’ daily dietary needs. The community projects that mainly engage in food gardening are doing so for the same reasons as the individuals. However there is a greater potential for the community projects to grow into more sustainable micro-economical entities that can supply the community and local retailers with locally grown cheap vegetables. Hampering this potential is the need for continuous skills development and training in agriculture and financial management. In addition, there is a problem pertaining to access to resources and funding than could assist both the community projects and individuals to grow good quality food. There is however a need for more data to assess the spatial distribution of the urban cultivators, livestock keepers and community projects. Nonetheless, it is important to note that urban agriculture is quite significant in the lives of those involved as it has helped reduce food insecurity in their households and encourages social

Thesis (MDev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / Smallholder subsistence agriculture is regarded as an approach that can be adopted by poor rural households to meet their food and nutritional requirements. The practice of smallholder subsistence agriculture is a basis upon which poor households can enhance their household food security through increased incomes and food supply, ultimately generating extra income for other household needs. The present study discusses and analyses the importance of smallholder subsistence agriculture as an effective method easily available to households residing in rural areas to access food and incomes for household purposes. Hence, the study seeks to explore and analyses the role of smallholder subsistence agriculture in contributing to household food security in rural areas. Both primary and secondary data have been used to analyze the factors for the purpose of the study. The primary data were collected through a designed survey questionnaire administered to sampled smallholder subsistence farmers in the study area. This study used purposive sampling technique, through a transect walk, to draw households involved in smallholder subsistence agriculture in Maroteng Village. From the total population in the study area, only 100 households were selected for the purposes of the study. Both descriptive and qualitative techniques were used to analyze salient variables of the practice in order to give an insight of the important role the sector can play in addressing poverty, enhancing incomes and creating employment, consequently contributing to household food security in rural areas. The study shows that the participation on smallholder subsistence farming by households in rural areas could have positive impact on food security situations.

Thesis (M.A. Admin. (Development)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014. / Smallholder subsistence agriculture is regarded as an approach that can be adopted by poor rural households to meet their food and nutritional requirements. The practice of smallholder subsistence agriculture is a basis upon which poor households can enhance their household food security through increased incomes and food supply, ultimately generating extra income for other household needs. The present study discusses and analyses the importance of smallholder subsistence agriculture as an effective method easily available to households residing in rural areas to access food and incomes for household purposes. Hence, the study seeks to explore and analyses the role of smallholder subsistence agriculture in contributing to household food security in rural areas. Both primary and secondary data have been used to analyze the factors for the purpose of the study. The primary data were collected through a designed survey questionnaire administered to sampled smallholder subsistence farmers in the study area. This study used purposive sampling technique, through a transect walk, to draw households involved in smallholder subsistence agriculture in Maroteng Village. From the total population in the study area, only 100 households were selected for the purposes of the study. Both descriptive and qualitative techniques were used to analyze salient variables of the practice in order to give an insight of the important role the sector can play in addressing poverty, enhancing incomes and creating employment, consequently contributing to household food security in rural areas. The study shows that the participation on smallholder subsistence farming by households in rural areas could have positive impact on food security situations.

The transnationalisation of economic relations and the emergence of supranational sites of policy-making and governance have been of concern both to 'affected publics' subject to the remote decisionmaking that such developments entail (and who have mobilised extensively to demonstrate their opposition to these bodies), and scholars keen to locate the possibilities for a democratic politics in the context of the state's subsequent diminishment (O'Brien et al., 2000; Scholte, 2001; Patomäki and Teivainen, 2004; Rittberger et al., 2008). One such group of scholars are public sphere theorists, who, taking up an ongoing concern with the conditions for, and criteria of, effective democratic participation in politically authoritative policy debates, and responding to these new dynamics, have begun to define a new research agenda in search of 'transnational public spheres' (Habermas, 1989; Fraser, 1991; Fraser 2007). That is, they have begun to look to the transnational for sites in which those affected by the exercise (or, indeed, absence) of political authority at this level strive to engage that authority in policy debate. In this thesis, I argue for the existence of one such transnational public sphere, which, being both provoked and constituted by the transnational peasant and small farmers social movement La Via Campesina, promises to be institutionally realised by the recently reformed United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS). Identifying and exploring key dynamics relevant to the CFS's aspirations for political centrality, inclusivity, and policy debate, moreover, I lay bare the challenges that confront the attainment of this promise.