‘Out of Place around Other People’: Experiences of Young People Who Live with Food Insecurity

We used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to address the question, ‘What does it mean to experience food insecurity?’ Youth focus group interviews incorporating art/writing prompts and interviews with programme director interviews contributed to our understanding of youth feeling out of place around other people. Young people living in food-insecure homes in rural areas may experience complicated sets of interactions that simultaneously connect them to others living in similar circumstances, yet isolate them from the community at large. A multitude of complex factors, including place, affects food insecurity. We also discuss implications for practitioners who work with youth who live with food insecurity.