Protective attributes and behaviors related to food provisioning for food security among U.S. low-income, Mexican-born mothers of young children: a qualitative study

U.S. Mexican-born Hispanic/Latino households are at a high risk of experiencing food insecurity and its poor dietary and health consequences but may have attributes that can be leveraged to promote food security and healthy dietary quality. To gain more in-depth understanding and capacity-oriented data to inform programming, we sought to elucidate potential food provisioning-related factors protecting low-income U.S. Mexican-born households with young children from food insecurity. We conducted a community-based qualitative study, guided by Life Course Perspective and Ecological Systems Theory, in two New York State counties. Low-income Mexican-born mothers (n = 27) of young children (≤5 years) with ≤10 years in the U.S. completed two semi-structured interviews, including a participant-driven photo elicitation interview, and responded to the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module. We conducted thematic content analyses to identify emergent themes. We identified four themes related to important attributes and behaviors of participants, which appeared to protect their households from food insecurity: resourcefulness and creativity with food provisioning, valuing new knowledge and skill-building opportunities, reflectiveness on poverty and food insecurity experiences, and the ability to establish beneficial food-provisioning routines, with the latter appearing to differentiate food-secure and food-insecure households. These attributes and behaviors facilitated management of economic resources while also meeting cultural ideals and family preferences. Low-income Mexican-born households appear to have human and cultural capital (i.e., assets) that may serve to be protective. Improved policies and programming are necessary to leverage these capacities to promote food security and healthier dietary intake.