Food Security for people living with HIV

This article was written by AIDS Calgary’s information/support worker.

The following is a definition from Health Canada’s website, “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”1

Often neglected, food security and nutrition are critical for individuals, households and communities affected by HIV. Lack of food security and poor nutritional status may hasten progression to AIDS related illnesses and undermine adherence and response to antiretroviral therapy. HIV infection itself undermines food security and nutrition by reducing work capacity and jeopardizing household livelihoods. HIV impairs nutritional status by undermining the immune system, nutrient intake, and absorptions use. Adults with HIV have 10-30% higher energy requirements than a healthy adult without HIV, and children with HIV 50-100% higher than normal requirements. Food availability and good nutrition are thus essential for keeping people with HIV healthy and able to resist opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis for longer. 2

Research in Canada shows that two thirds of the low-income (under $30,000 yearly income) families that were studied were food insecure, and the lower the household income, the higher the chance of a household being food insecure. The research also found that among families in market rental accommodations, as the proportion of household income spent on housing costs increased, so did the likelihood of food insecurity . The likelihood of food insecurity did not differ between families in subsized and market rental housing. However, families in subsidized housing were less likely to be food insecure compared to those on a subsidy waiting list, suggesting a protective effect of subsidies. The researchers also found pervasive housing quality problems such that almost half of the households lived in crowded housing and one fifth lived in housing in need of major repair, indicating that low-income households struggle with multiple basic needs. The findings from this research suggest that food and housing insecurity are prevalent among low-income families residing in high – poverty neighbourhoods.

Policy implications of this research include the need to redefine housing affordability to take into account the amount of money left over in low-income households after shelter costs are paid. Quality and adequacy of housing should also be taken into account. There is also a need for attention to adequacy of current housing subsidy levels, as most families living in subsidized housing in the study were food insecure.3

In Alberta the average AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped*from the AISH website) income is $1188 dollars, if you break this down into a budget and spend $750.00 for rent, this leaves $438.00 for telephone, utilities, transportation, clothing, laundry and groceries and quite often groceries are the item that gets left until the last and often people then need to use the Food Bank. You can self-refer 3 times at the Calgary Food Bank and you can have an agency refer another 4 times a year. The link for low cost food in Calgary is: http://www.calgaryfoodbank.com/2011/Low%20Cost%20Food%20April%202011.pdf.url

The fact that people living with HIV are often a group with low income and inadequate housing, Food Security can be a major issue. Often the clients that use the agency (ACAA) are dealing with numerous issues including food security. If people don’t have a place to live they depend on free meals from shelters and the take away lunch bags that AIDS Calgary provides.

The following nutrition programs are offered to registered clients of ACAA:

Positive Living Lunch Program
A hot meal and time for clients to socialize and learn about specific health and wellness topics, on scheduled Fridays. See our Event Calendar for the schedule of upcoming Lunches.

Coffee Connection
Drop-in for informal peer support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Coffee and snacks provided, on scheduled Fridays. See our Event Calendar for the schedule of upcoming Coffee Connections.

Vitamin Program
Several studies have proven the positive health impact of multivitamins on people living with HIV. With the help of our partner, Jamieson Laboratories, we have multivitamins available at no charge to all AIDS Calgary clients.

Good Food Box
AIDS Calgary is a Good Food Box depot location. The Good Food Box is a program run by the Community Kitchen Program of Calgary. A variety of box sizes are available, ranging from $15 to $25 a box, and each box is filled with low-cost, high quality fresh fruits and vegetables.

Other Food Programs
Our Case Managers can provide Calgary Food Bank referrals for registered clients. We also provide information on nutrition, food safety and basic cooking. In addition, emergency bagged lunches and snacks from our Calgary Cares Centre kitchenette are always available for clients. 4

REFERENCES
1. Normén L, Chan K, Braitstein P, et al. Food Insecurity and Hunger Are Prevalent among HIV-Positive Individuals in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Nutrition 2005;135(4):820-825. http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/dataimport/pub/manual/2008/jc1515_policy_brief_nutrition_en.pdf2.

2. http://one.wfp.org/food_aid/doc/JC1515-Policy_Brief_Expanded.pdf

3. Jones CY, Hogan JW, Snyder B, et al. Overweight and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) progression in women: associations HIV disease progression and changes in body mass index in women in the HIV epidemiology research study cohort. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2003;37 Supplement 2:s69-s80.

4. http://www.aidscalgary.org/