Achieving a healthy home food environment: perspectives on parents’ nutrition education needs when living with food insecurity

Purpose The familial food environment is influenced by many factors, including food insecurity, food accessibility, and foods accepted by the family. These factors can facilitate or hinder caregivers’ ability to support a healthy home food environment. The aim of this research was to explore the barriers to, perspectives on, and nutrition education needs identified by food-insecure parents which would then inform a community-based nutrition education program. Methods A qualitative study used focus group data that were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a constant comparison approach to categorize the emerging themes. Results Emergent themes: (1) Cooking confidence deficit; (2) Healthy meal preparation barriers; (3) Healthy meal acceptance barriers; (4) Meal planning, management, and adaptability. These themes suggest that supporting a healthy home food environment is connected to both food knowledge and competencies, known as food literacy. Conclusion Food literacy competency should be assessed before nutrition education program implementation within community settings.