Development of a Food Security Indicator Framework in British Columbia

Abstract

Food security is complex in both content and governance, making it difficult to measure and monitor. In 2016, the Population and Public Health Program of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Provincial Health Services Authority, sought to identify or construct an evidence-based conceptual frame­work to guide the systematic selection of food security indicators for British Columbia (BC), Canada.

A systemized scan of the literature found no existing conceptual frameworks specific to food security indica­tors appropriate to the Global North. The most relevant indicator frameworks for food security in the litera­ture were environmental health indicator frameworks. These formed the foundation for the conceptual framework for food security indicators in BC. The framework is a matrix that combines an adaptation of the environmental health casual network (i.e., determinants–current state–impact–response) with food security elements (i.e., (i) individual and household food insecurity; (ii) food systems, and (iii) capacity). Use of this framework can enable program planners and policy-makers to be clear about where and how they are attempting to assess, influence, and monitor food security. It also illustrates interconnectedness between indicators.

The creation of this framework has laid the foundation for the development of a set of indicators for BC Public Health. Its wide scope allows for the potential of various sectors to populate the framework with indicators and thus create a comprehensive assessment of food security in BC.