How do households cope with food insecurity? Quantitative analysis of the coping strategies of households with children attending public childcare in Uruguay

Food insecurity remains a pressing global challenge, particularly for households with children. This study examined the coping strategies adopted by socioeconomically vulnerable households with children up to 3 years old in Uruguay, a high-income Latin American country, by addressing the following objectives: (i) estimate the frequency of different coping strategies, (ii) assess their relationship with perceived food insecurity, and (iii) analyze the influence of socio-economic factors on their use. A nationally representative survey was conducted among households with children attending public childcare centers (n = 1535). The questionnaire included the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and a set of 15 coping strategies derived from prior qualitative research. The findings revealed that 72 % of households had adopted at least one coping strategy in the year prior to the survey. The likelihood of employing each strategy varied with the level of food insecurity experienced by the household. The Rasch model suggested that coping strategies can be represented along a unidimensional continuum of severity: less severe strategies are adopted earlier as food shortages appear, while more severe strategies appear only under more extreme conditions. In addition to food insecurity, socio-economic status and education level were also significant predictors of the use of several strategies. These results suggest that coping strategies and food insecurity indicators capture distinct yet interconnected aspects of economic challenges to access food. Notably, some coping strategies were highly prevalent even among households experiencing mild food insecurity and food security, which may imply negative changes in children's diet quality.