SynthesisHealth promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice2025
Food-based interventions to mitigate household food insecurity in Canada: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Experiences of people with diabetes receiving a voucher for healthy foods: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- A Seat at the (Dinner) Table: Food and Eating Practices in the Ontario Basic Income Pilot.Sociology of health & illness · 2026Article
- "We treat the symptom, not the system": a qualitative study exploring connections between food insecurity and disease-related malnutrition in Canada.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2026Article
- The evidence is in: accountability needs to be injected into the policy-making process for household food insecurity reduction.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionHousehold food insecurity (HFI) is a persistent and important public health and policy concern within Canada that continues to be widespread in the face of economic uncertainties and inflation. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence on food-based interventions that could reduce HFI in Canada.
methodsStudies that assessed a food-based intervention that might reduce food insecurity and measured HFI were included, regardless of whether that was the primary purpose of the study. Four databases were searched up to 19 February 2025. Screening of abstracts and full texts, data extraction, assessments of risks of bias and certainty of the evidence were conducted independently by two reviewers. PROSPERO CRD42021254450.
resultsExposure to food voucher programs may reduce HFI, but exposure to food box, community gardening, school food, hunting and fishing, and food charity programs may have little to no effect on HFI. The rate of utilization of food banks by food-insecure households may be low and depends upon food insecurity level and population group.
conclusionFood charities may be a last resort for those in need of short-term access to emergency food (i.e. populations experiencing homelessness). However, given the pervasive nature of HFI as a marker of deprivation, it is unlikely that food-based responses will have a major impact on overall HFI, which is primarily an economic problem. A more comprehensive public policy approach to mitigate HFI is likely required.
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Registered trials
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