Date of Award

Spring 5-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of arts (BA)

Department

Healthcare Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Christine Stevens

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between food insecurity and food apartheid and the long-term effects on the mental health of vulnerable populations. Using a mixed-method approach, studies from 2015 to 2025 with similar definitions of food insecurity (FIS), food apartheid, and serious mental illness (SMI) locally and globally. Washington Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) phone survey data were used to interpret the long-term effects of food insecurity/food apartheid on the mental health of vulnerable populations locally. This research will include relevant studies sourced through the University of Washington Library’s Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database (CINAHL), PubMed, and published literature between the years 2015 and 2025, and the Washington Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). To encompass the entirety of the FIS landscape, food apartheid is included to address the purposeful exclusion of vulnerable populations from the food delivery system and relevant information, aligning with Karen Washington’s (farmer/activist and creator of the term) definition of food apartheid. Long-term FIS and food apartheid increase the risk of SMIs in populations already experiencing mental health problems. BRFSS data (n= 2,632) showed a significant relationship between days of poor mental and physical health and reported food insecurity. Food apartheid compounds mental health risks in already food-insecure populations, which are generally ethnocultural minorities, women, and children. Food Insecurity negatively impacts mental health, developmental health, and physical health locally and globally.

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