Food Security and Poverty Key Challenges and Policy Issues

Food insecurity, or the inability to access food of sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy minimum dietary needs, is the most basic form of human deprivation. Before people can provide for their education, health care, or even clothing and shelter, they need to satisfy their hunger and feel secure that their future meals will indeed be available. Thus, the issue of food security is central to any discussion on poverty. Food security is defined as the situation when “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. To achieve food security, food should be available, accessible, and properly utilized at all times.