Putting food on the public health table: Making food security relevant to regional health authorities.

Food security is emerging as an increasingly important public health issue. The purpose of this paper is to describe a conceptual model and five classes of food security indicators for regional health authorities (RHAs): direct, indirect, consequence, process, and supra-regional. The model was developed after a review of the food security literature and interviews with British Columbia community nutritionists and public health officials. We offer this conceptual model as a practical tool to help RHAs develop a comprehensive framework and use specific indicators, in conjunction with public health nutritionists and other community stakeholders. We recommend using all five classes of indicator together to ensure a complete assessment of the full breadth of food security. This model will be useful for Canadian health authorities wishing to take a holistic community-based approach to public health nutrition to develop more effective policies and programs to maximize food security. The model and indicators offer a rational process that could be useful for collaborative multi-stakeholder initiatives to improve food security.