Coping Mechanism and Factors Contributing to Food Insecurity among Urban Poor in Moradabad, India

Objectives: The goal of the current study is to analyze the urban poor’s food insecurity and coping mechanisms.Methodology: As a result, both primary and secondary data are used to support the current research. A well-structured questionnaire was used in a field survey to gather the primary data. The secondary sources include studies, journals, business publications, and published literature. For the current study, FGD has also been conducted to gather further details. The data collecting method has been stratified random sampling. A sophisticated statistical method was used to determine the sampling size for the current investigation (i.e., the Yamane formula, ۱۹۶۷). Furthermore, ۳۹۶ houses have been chosen based on the sampling size calculation in order to conduct in-person interviews to gather responses. Simple descriptive statistics, such as frequency, percentage, and mean, as well as the coping strategy index (CSI) and FGT food insecurity index have all been employed in the study of the data.Results: As a result, households experience food insecurity ۷۷.۳۵% of the time, with a depth and severity of food insecurity of ۲۱.۴۵% and ۹.۴۲%, respectively. Additionally, food-insecure households consume an average of ۱۲۲۲.۹۳ kcal per day, with a maximum and minimum intake of ۱۹۴۸.۱۵ kcal and ۴۹۷.۷۰ kcal, respectively.Conclusion: Furthermore, the findings show that the top five coping strategies used by the households to combat food insecurity and food shortages were reliance on less preferred or less expensive foods, reduction in meal frequency and size per day, food purchases made on credit, and food obtained from family and friends.

Keywords:

Food Insecurity , Dietary Diversity , Caloric Intake , FGT Food Insecurity Index , Coping Mechanism , Moradabad City