Assessment of Food Security and Its Implication on Urban Poor People in District Peshawar

Purpose: This study was carried out to address the issue of food security and the factors affecting it in the semi-urban area of district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. More specifically the study reviewed the food security situation among urban poor households using their food expenditures patterns and further investigated its various dynamics. Methodology: Data were collected with the help of interviewing techniques from randomly sampled 100 households in the Peshawar suburb. Household food security was assessed using the food security index adopted from Omonona (2007). Using the Omonona index, the threshold which differentiated the food secure from the food-insecure households in the study area was Rs. 1500 per month (i.e., 2/3 of mean food expenditure). Findings: The result legitimized using the Omonona food security index as a smart indicator in determining food security status at the household level. Implications: To help the urban poor in improving the situation of food security efforts are needed to enhance awareness of food security by promoting education regarding livelihood strategies, self-sustainability programs, and the importance of a proper diet.