Mothers’ and Households’ Food Security Status in Kangai and Mutithi Locations of Mwea West Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate household’s food security status.  The study was carried out in dry harvesting and wet planting seasons in the two locations of Mwea West Sub County, Kenya, namely, Kangai and Mutithi.  The study design was comparative cross sectional survey while the data instrument was a structured researcher administered household questionnaire. Sampling techniques  included probability proportionate to population, The data were analyzed by the use of Health Canada’s, Household Food Security Survey Model (HFSSM), On the whole, the findings were that 39% of the households were food secure, 21 % were moderately insecure, while 40 % were severely food insecure. The general conclusion was that in as much as the households in the two locations were significantly different in terms of households’ and mothers’ food security status, they both experienced chronic food insecurity which did not change with the season. The study recommends food intervention for the 40 % of households that are severely food insecure.

Keywords: Food Security Status, Households’ Food Security, Mothers’ Food Security, Health Canada