Food Security Sustainability among Urban Low-Income Households in Malaysia: A Systematic Literature Review

Food security is a major concern for governments and international organisations around the world. Every country is working to ensure a steady supply of affordable, high-quality meals to meet the needs of all its citizens. This is especially challenging for low-income households. While many studies have been conducted on food security, there has been limited analysis of the sustainability of food security for urban low-income households in Malaysia. The major purpose of this systematic literature review is to look at how urban population increase affects food supply and demand, as well as the consequences of food accessibility, quality, and price inflation on low-income urban families. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed by the review. Twenty-eight (28) papers published between 2012 and 2023 were selected from databases like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ScienceDirect. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the review. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) identified three main themes: availability, accessibility, and quality of food. In conclusion, the review highlighted a few gaps in the sustainability of household food security among low-income urban residents in Malaysia. Thus, it is important to explore and investigate the underlying causes of food availability, accessibility, and quality in urban poor households in Malaysia.