Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Food Security for Low-Income Household During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Special Region of Yogyakarta

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected household food security, especially those with low incomes. This study aims to: (1) analyze the influence of socio-demographic factors (gender, age, mother’s education, marital status, occupation, dependents, income, and social assistance) on food security. (2) Measuring the level of food security of low-income families in the Special Region of Yogyakarta seen from the share of food expenditure, using a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach and involved a sample of 250 low-income households, determined randomly by purposive sampling technique. We collected data through questionnaires, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and multiple linear regression models using SPSS software. Three socio-demographic variables affect food security: employment, income, and the number of dependents. Simultaneously, these factors significantly affect the respondents’ food consumption expenditure. This study found that only 42.4% of respondents had food security. It shows that the current COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the poverty experienced by respondents. As for recommendations: (1) The government needs to provide social protection to help low-income households through food assistance programs. (2) Social protection programs need to be combined with household-based socio-economic empowerment programs to improve the food security of low-income households sustainably.

Factors associated with food security in Depok City, Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

“…The results indicated that more than half of the total households had food insecurity, with the most significant proportion being severe. This finding aligns with similar studies on COVID-19 (Hermawati et al, 2022;Syafiq et al, 2022;Dewi et al, 2023). COVID-19 has significantly impacted family incomes, as demonstrated by the marked disparity in family income and food security.…”

“…The determinants of food security in Tulungagung include income, employment status, and type of social assistance, as noted by Dewi et al (2023). Similarly, Hermawati et al (2022) found that factors influencing food security in Yogyakarta were employment status, family income, and number of dependents. Engel's law states that increased income directly leads to increased food consumption.…”

“…"Family dependents" refers to members who rely financially on the household, including employed and unemployed biological or non-biological relatives (Hanum, 2018). Households with more dependents tended to have higher expenditures, affecting food and non-food security (Hermawati et al, 2022). The Central Statistics Agency classified dependents into three groups: small families with 1-3 individuals, medium-sized families with 4-6 individuals, and large families with , 2000).…”

Government's Policies on the Prevention of COVID-19 Transmission Impacting Household Food Security in Indonesia

“…Three sociodemographic factors affect food security, these are employment, income and the number of dependents (Ashari et al, 2022). The pandemic has also exacerbated the conditions of poverty for the community of Yogyakarta (Hermawati et al, 2022). Other study found that being a female, unemployed and living in Java are the low factors associated with food security, while have a history of stress or depression, poor dietary habits and living alone are the strong factors (Ashari et al, 2022).…”

“…Food insecurity was affected by many factors. The most studies conducted found that the gender of household heads (Andani & Adi, 2021;Ashari et al, 2022;Manyullei & Arundhana, 2021;Purnasari et al, 2020), age of household heads (Andani & Adi, 2021;Hermawati et al, 2022;Iguna et al, 2022), family size (Ashari et al, 2022;Syafiq et al, 2022), uncoupled households (Ashari et al, 2022), marital status of the head of household (Iguna et al, 2022;Sitompul et al, 2023), educational level of women handling food, educational status of household head (Manyullei & Arundhana, 2021;Primaningrum et al, 2022) and economic status were determining factors of food insecurity (Iguna et al, 2022;Syafiq et al, 2022). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the pandemic of Covid-19 would affect the food security of many countries, especially poor and developing countries.…”