Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

The Meaning of Food Security

In this activity, you will:

 Define what food securitymeans

Facilitator’s notes:

Household food security refers to all people in the home including young children having access to
adequate amounts and quality of food throughout the year. To achieve this, households must not
only have the ability to produce, purchase or store food but must also have adequate knowledge
on how to use the food.

Food security is influenced by a variety of factors, including:

Activity 1

For this activity you will need:

 Flipchart and markers

To facilitate this activity:

1 Introduce this topic by asking participants what they think is meant by food security.

Ask: - Why is food security important for households with OVC?

• What needs to happen at the family and community level to ensure that vulnerable
  children have enough to eat?
  Encourage participants not only to think of food security in terms of having enough food,
  but also to think about everything that influences whether or not a child has enough food.
  Supplement their ideas using your facilitator’s notes.

Weather patterns (good or

bad rains, and drought) Access to land and water

Farming techniques

The health and availability

of agricultural workers

The availability of farming

tools and seeds

Knowledge of nutrition and

the nutritional value of

local foods

Cost of food

Family and community

income for purchasing food

How food is distributed

in a household

20 minutes

Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Module 3^217