Securing Survivability for Urban Poor: A Review on Food Accessibility and Food Affordability
Abstract
There are multifaceted challenges, including poverty, international and domestic food supply disruptions, labor shortages, global economic crises, natural disasters, and burgeoning global population, precipitating a formidable food security predicament. This predicament manifests in the form of compromised affordability, unreliability in accessibility, and inadequacy of available nutritious sustenance. This study is part of a larger study exploring affordable food supply via accessibility, particularly for the urban poor in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to analyze how policymakers could improve food affordability via food accessibility for the urban poor. This study reports a desktop survey using the systematic literature synthesis process based on the keywords "urban poor", "food accessibility", and "food affordability". The results found that urban poor could improve food security by utilizing their local supply chain (LSC) with a selective coping strategy (CS). The results led to the developing a proposed Urban Poor Secured Survivability Model. This study is significant because the results identified the limitations among the urban poor in accessing nutrient-rich, safe, affordable and quality local food. The benefits of this study include guiding potential local supply chain development with local food resources. It is recommended that future studies develop a local supply chain for urban poor food security and propose a management system to enable its successful implementation.
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Lim, M. J., Abdul Kadir, N. B., Mohd, R. H., & Ismail, N. A. (2024). Fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction among urban poor post-COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study. Cogent Psychology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2024.2326793
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Amir, K. N. K., & Mat, B. (2021). Coping mechanism in overcoming food (in) security among the community at the Malaysia-Thailand border: a human security perspective. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 42(1), 89-94.
Mei, C. F., Faller, E. M., Chuan, L. X., & San Gabriel, J. (2020). Household income, food insecurity and nutritional status of migrant workers in Klang valley, Malaysia. Annals of Global Health, 86(1).
Roslan, A., Ghapar, F., Lian, C. L., Wahab, S. N., Muhamed, A. A., & Sundram, V. P. K. (2023). Food Supply Chain Assurance: Malaysian Consumer Household Perspective. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 30.
Ugunesh, D., Siau, C. S., Mohd Sanip, M. N. A. B., & Koo, H. C. (2023). Perceived barriers towards whole grain consumption among the Malaysian adult population: findings from a theory-based qualitative study. British Food Journal, 125(3), 1130-1147.
Shibani, B., & Archita, G. (2022). Factors Affecting Food Accessibility of Rural Households: A Study in Birbhum, West Bengal. Economic Affairs, 66(3), 493-500.
Chege, C. G. K., Wanyama, R., Lundy, M., Nguru, W., & Jäger, M. (2021). Does retail food diversity in urban food environments influence consumer diets?. Sustainability, 13(14), 7666.
Peng, K., & Kaza, N. (2020). Association between neighborhood food access, household income, and purchase of snacks and beverages in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7517.
Konapur, A., Gavaravarapu, S. M., & Nair, K. M. (2022). The 5 A's Approach for Contextual Assessment of Food Environment. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 54(7), 621-635.
Chenarides, L., Cho, C., Nayga Jr, R. M., & Thomsen, M. R. (2021). Dollar stores and food deserts. Applied Geography, 134, 102497.
Mkusa, L., & Hendriks, S. (2022). How food insecure are residents in Malawi's major cities?. Development Southern Africa, 39(2), 165-181.
Akpaki, K., Galibois, I., Sall, M., & Blaney, S. (2020). Assessing the food availability and food insecurity situation among communities of Matam region, Senegal. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 59(4), 367-386.
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Ansah, I. G. K., Gardebroek, C., & Ihle, R. (2024, January). Simulating policy options for improving household resilience to food demand shocks in the context of West Africa. In Natural Resources Forum. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Mekonen, D., Berlie, A. B., & Kassie, T. (2023). Determinants of Urban food security status at household level: The case of Bahir Dar and Gondar Cities of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9(1), 2186209.
Chege, C. G. K., Namazzi, S., Mutua, M. M., Onyango, K. O., & Jager, M. (2021). What determines consumption of nutritious foods by the urban poor in Africa?. British Food Journal, 124(1), 350-365.
Wangithi, C. M., Nyangaresi, A. M., Srinivasulu, R., Moyo, M., Muzhingi, T., & Kawarazuka, N. (2023). Consumer willingness to pay a premium for orange-fleshed sweet potato puree products: a gender-responsive evidence from Becker–DeGroot–Marschak experimental auction among low-and middle-income consumers in selected regions of Nairobi, Kenya. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1114468.
Tirivangasi, H. M., Dzvimbo, M. A., Chaminuka, N., & Mawonde, A. (2023). Assessing climate change and urban poverty in the context of the COVID 19 lockdowns: Rethinking personality and societal challenges in Zimbabwe. Scientific African, 20, e01710.
Hirvonen, K., Bai, Y., Headey, D., & Masters, W. A. (2020). Affordability of the EAT–Lancet reference diet: a global analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 8(1), e59-e66.
Ibrahim, R. (2011), "Demystifying the Arduous Doctoral Journey: The Eagle Vision of a Research Proposal", Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 9(2). https://academic-publishing.org/index.php/ejbrm/article/view/1275. October 3, 2023.
Ibrahim, R. (2020). Thinking Tools: Navigating a 3-Year PhD Journey. Singapore: Partridge. 140 pg. ISBN 978-1-5437-5771-2.
Luo, N., Ibrahim, R., & Abidin, S. Z. (2022). Transformation of Children's Paintings into Public Art to Improve Public Spaces and Enhance People's Happiness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24): 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416780
Masiran, R., Ibrahim, N., Awang, H., & Lim, P. Y. (2020). Improving multicultural parenting program for children with emotional and behavioral problems: An integrated review. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 101851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2019.101851
Rahinah Ibrahim, Mustafa Kamal Rahinah. 2018. "Templates for Thinking. Unpublished Literary." Copyright Malaysia Intellectual Properties Office, Kuala Lumpur LY2018002437.
Rousseau, Denise M., Joshua Manning, and David Denyer. 2008. "Evidence in Management and Organizational Science: Assembling the Field's Full Weight of Scientific Knowledge through Syntheses." In AIM Research Working Paper Series: Advanced Institute of Management Research. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520802211651.
Templier, Mathieu, Paré, Guy. 2015. "A Framework for Guiding and Evaluating Literature Reviews." Communications of the Association for Information Systems 37: 6. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.03706.
Wu, Y., Azmi, A., Ibrahim, R., Ghafar, A.A. and Salih, S.A. (2024), "Creating a sustainable urban ecosystem: the Azheke village model", Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-10-2023-0292
Zou Shasha, Rahinah Ibrahim, Sazrinee Zainal Abidin & Siti Mastura Md Ishak. (2023). Up- cyclilng with Painting Language Features in Unique Green Product Packaging Design. The International Journal of Designed Objects, 17(2):13-33. https://doi.org/10.18848/2325- 1379/CGP/v17i02/13-33.
Nor Hafizah Mohamed Harith, Nur Zafifa Kamarunzaman, Tuan Nooriani Tuan Ismail, Azizan Zainuddin, & Nur Fatima Aisya binti Jamil. (2022). A Preliminary Findings of Urban Poor Malay Households Livelihood Strategies in Klang Valley, Malaysia. RES MILITARIS, 12(2), 2254–2271. Retrieved from https://resmilitaris.net/index.php/resmilitaris/article/view/407
Tay, J.E.F., Tung, S.E.H., Kaur, S. et al. Seasonality, food security, diet quality and nutritional status in urban poor adolescents in Malaysia. Sci Rep 13, 15067 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42394-6
Tay, J. E. F., Kaur, S., Tham, W. W., Gan, W. Y., Ya, N. N. C., Tan, C. H., & Tung, S. E. H. (2023). Food security and diet quality among urban poor adolescents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nutrition research and practice, 17(2), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2023.17.2.269
Cheah, M. H. J., Chin, Y. S., Abu Saad, H., Lim, P. Y., Chan, Y. M., & Shariff, Z. M. (2022). Factors predicting health-related quality of life of the Malaysian B40 school-aged children living in urban poor flats in the central region of Malaysia. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 31(4), 740–747. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.814702367264193
Andoy-Galvan, J. A., Lugova, H., Patil, S. S., Wong, Y. H., Baloch, G. M., Suleiman, A., Nordin, R., & Chinna, K. (2020). Income and obesity in an urban poor community: a cross-sectional study. F1000Research, 9, 160. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.22236.1
Mok, K. T., Tung, S. E. H., Kaur, S., Chin, Y. S., Martini, M. Y., & Ulaganathan, V. (2023). Children's perspectives on vegetable consumption and gardening: Outcomes from a qualitative study in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Children & Society, 00, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12814
Eng, C.W., Lim, S.C., Ngongo, C. et al. Dietary practices, food purchasing, and perceptions about healthy food availability and affordability: a cross-sectional study of low-income Malaysian adults. BMC Public Health 22, 192 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12598-y
Mohamad Azhar, N. A. Z., & Mohd, S. (2020). Using asset index to reassess poverty in the Northern States of Malaysia: do the poor stay poor?. International Journal of Social Economics, 47(4), 483-502. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-03-2019-0187
Lim, M. J., Abdul Kadir, N. B., Mohd, R. H., & Ismail, N. A. (2024). Fear of COVID-19, resilience, urban farming motivation, and life satisfaction among urban poor post-COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study. Cogent Psychology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2024.2326793
Sulaiman, N. F. C., Muhamad, S., Zaidi, M. A. S., Aziz, N., & Nawawi, M. N. (2023). The resilience of income among urban poor communities in Kuala Lumpur. Asian Development Policy Review, 11(2), 91-98.
Shaifuddin, S. N. M., Azmi, A., Mohammad Ghazali, S. N. F., & Shahid, N. S. M. (2022). Food Accessibility and Movement Control Order: Analyzing Impact of First Lockdown on Access to Food. Malaysian Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences, 18.
Amir, K. N. K., & Mat, B. (2021). Coping mechanism in overcoming food (in) security among the community at the Malaysia-Thailand border: a human security perspective. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 42(1), 89-94.
Mei, C. F., Faller, E. M., Chuan, L. X., & San Gabriel, J. (2020). Household income, food insecurity and nutritional status of migrant workers in Klang valley, Malaysia. Annals of Global Health, 86(1).
Roslan, A., Ghapar, F., Lian, C. L., Wahab, S. N., Muhamed, A. A., & Sundram, V. P. K. (2023). Food Supply Chain Assurance: Malaysian Consumer Household Perspective. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 30.
Ugunesh, D., Siau, C. S., Mohd Sanip, M. N. A. B., & Koo, H. C. (2023). Perceived barriers towards whole grain consumption among the Malaysian adult population: findings from a theory-based qualitative study. British Food Journal, 125(3), 1130-1147.
Shibani, B., & Archita, G. (2022). Factors Affecting Food Accessibility of Rural Households: A Study in Birbhum, West Bengal. Economic Affairs, 66(3), 493-500.
Chege, C. G. K., Wanyama, R., Lundy, M., Nguru, W., & Jäger, M. (2021). Does retail food diversity in urban food environments influence consumer diets?. Sustainability, 13(14), 7666.
Peng, K., & Kaza, N. (2020). Association between neighborhood food access, household income, and purchase of snacks and beverages in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7517.
Konapur, A., Gavaravarapu, S. M., & Nair, K. M. (2022). The 5 A's Approach for Contextual Assessment of Food Environment. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 54(7), 621-635.
Chenarides, L., Cho, C., Nayga Jr, R. M., & Thomsen, M. R. (2021). Dollar stores and food deserts. Applied Geography, 134, 102497.
Mkusa, L., & Hendriks, S. (2022). How food insecure are residents in Malawi's major cities?. Development Southern Africa, 39(2), 165-181.
Akpaki, K., Galibois, I., Sall, M., & Blaney, S. (2020). Assessing the food availability and food insecurity situation among communities of Matam region, Senegal. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 59(4), 367-386.
Bwanaisa, M., & Hendriks, S. L. (2023). Recalibration of benchmarks is necessary: even the most basic meal was not affordable for Malawi's poor between 2017 and 2021. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1155661.
Kimani-Murage, E. W., Osogo, D., Nyamasege, C. K., Igonya, E. K., Ngira, D. O., & Harrington, J. (2022). COVID-19 and human right to food: lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government's response measures, a participatory qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1399.
Mwambi, M., Schreinemachers, P., Praneetvatakul, S., & Harris, J. (2023). Cost and affordability of a healthy diet for urban populations in Thailand and the Philippines before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1398.
Zhong, T., Crush, J., Song, Y., Si, Z., Scott, S., & Peng, Y. (2023). Urban food insecurity and the impact of China's affordable food shop (AFS) program: A case study of Nanjing City. Applied Geography, 154, 102924.
Akter, M. S., Talsma, E. F., Feskens, E. J., Thilsted, S. H., & Rasheed, S. (2022). How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect food environment, food purchase, and fish consumption among low-income urban households in Bangladesh—A path analysis. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 994236.
Ansah, I. G. K., Gardebroek, C., & Ihle, R. (2024, January). Simulating policy options for improving household resilience to food demand shocks in the context of West Africa. In Natural Resources Forum. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Mekonen, D., Berlie, A. B., & Kassie, T. (2023). Determinants of Urban food security status at household level: The case of Bahir Dar and Gondar Cities of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9(1), 2186209.
Chege, C. G. K., Namazzi, S., Mutua, M. M., Onyango, K. O., & Jager, M. (2021). What determines consumption of nutritious foods by the urban poor in Africa?. British Food Journal, 124(1), 350-365.
Wangithi, C. M., Nyangaresi, A. M., Srinivasulu, R., Moyo, M., Muzhingi, T., & Kawarazuka, N. (2023). Consumer willingness to pay a premium for orange-fleshed sweet potato puree products: a gender-responsive evidence from Becker–DeGroot–Marschak experimental auction among low-and middle-income consumers in selected regions of Nairobi, Kenya. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1114468.
Tirivangasi, H. M., Dzvimbo, M. A., Chaminuka, N., & Mawonde, A. (2023). Assessing climate change and urban poverty in the context of the COVID 19 lockdowns: Rethinking personality and societal challenges in Zimbabwe. Scientific African, 20, e01710.
Hirvonen, K., Bai, Y., Headey, D., & Masters, W. A. (2020). Affordability of the EAT–Lancet reference diet: a global analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 8(1), e59-e66.
Published
2024-09-30
How to Cite
KAI WONG, Yew et al.
Securing Survivability for Urban Poor: A Review on Food Accessibility and Food Affordability.
International Journal of Advanced Research in Economics and Finance, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 3, p. 135-148, sep. 2024.
ISSN 2682-812X.
Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijaref/article/view/27739>. Date accessed: 26 mar. 2025.
Section
English Section
