Criminal justice system involvement and food insufficiency: findings from the 2018 New York City Community Health Survey.

PURPOSE: To assess whether personal and family history of criminal justice (CRJ) involvement is related to food insufficiency.

METHODS

Data are from the 2018 New York City Community Health Survey (n = 9580). Cross-sectional multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the association between CRJ involvement and food insufficiency.

RESULTS

Personal (relative risk ratio= 2.019, 95% confidence interval = 1.363, 2.994) and family history (relative risk ratios = 1.447, 95% confidence interval = 1.014, 2.066) of CRJ involvement is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing moderate-to-severe food insufficiency, net of covariate for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Developing interventions such as expanding access to nutrition assistance programs for criminal justice involved populations may yield benefits for alleviating food insufficiency and promoting greater health equity.