Interventions to address food insecurity among adults in Canada and the US: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Question  Are food insecurity interventions associated with improvements in food insecurity status, health outcomes, or health care utilization?

Findings  In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 randomized and observational studies, including 170 605 participants, direct provision of food and monetary assistance were associated with statistically significant reductions in the prevalence of food insecurity. Health and health care utilization outcomes were reported in less than half of studies with mixed results that were not statistically significant in pooled analyses.

Meaning  For individuals with food insecurity, interventions that directly address their needs with food or monetary assistance are associated with improvements in food insecurity status, but further work is needed to understand the association with health outcomes and health care utilization.