Regulation of household food needs: Affirmation of socio-cultural resilience in preventing stunting incidents in coastal areas

The problem of stunting is not only related to children’s short height, but also has an impact on high morbidity rates, due to long-term nutritional deficiencies. which hinders motor and mental development in children. The objectives of this research are: 1) to understand household food security, 2) to understand the eating habits of pregnant women and toddlers regarding existing belief systems and traditions, and 3) to understand resilience mechanisms in overcoming food emergencies to prevent stunting. The data collection process uses a mixed methods approach by combining qualitative and quantitative research. The research results show that the determining factor for the incidence of stunting in coastal areas of Indonesia is the lack of household food availability due to subsistence economic life which then has an impact on eating behavior in the household, namely the lack of quality and quantity of the types of food consumed. daily. Apart from that, there is still a lack of understanding by pregnant women regarding the importance of providing complementary breast milk food to toddlers, low literacy of food diversity among toddlers, and low public trust in the importance of immunization. Furthermore, the high rate of early marriage in society and the limited awareness of using clean water is caused by a philosophy that still considers rivers as a source of life, so the water is used for consumption. Apart from that, socio-cultural mechanisms as a strategy to resolve the problem of food shortages have not yet been implemented.