Food insecurity is assessed in the U.S. by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM), and is considered to be a standardized and robust measurement tool. The HFSSM has been studied in great detail to assess its accuracy and precision in measuring food security and is commonly used by government institutions, funding agencies and non-profit groups to gauge food security levels in the U.S.

Although this assessment tool has been validated across multiple racial/ethnic groups, meaning that it has been tested to see if how much and well the tool actually measures food security, there continues to be concerns about its validity for identifying food insecure households among the Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI). There is very limited research and data on this topic area, and there are very few studies focused on AANHPI ethnic-sub groups, on this subject matter. As a result, a critique of the HFSSM has been that it may not be representative of the experiences/attitudes about food and food security among AANHPI individuals across ethnic groups.

As someone who identifies as AANHPI myself, I know from first-hand experience and observation how critical food is in social and cultural spaces, and how food security is interpreted differently as a result of social and cultural norms. The state of Hawai'i is a unique region in the U.S. due to its historic and continued sociodemographic concentration of multigenerational and multi-ethnic AANHPI community members, as well as its complex history and relationship with food and government-based food assistance programs. As a result, food security experiences may differ in Hawai'I compared to the mainland U.S, and it's important to determine if federal measurements for food security collect information that takes into account the nuanced experiences of community members.

In partnership with The Pantry By Feeding Hawaii Together, a well-established and trusted food pantry organization in O'ahu, my master's capstone project, titled "Exploring and Assessing the Validity of Food Security Measures Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) in Hawai’i" seeks to understand whether the questionnaires used by federal institutions accurately capture the lived experiences of AANHPI when it comes to food access and food security. More specifically, this mixed-methods research project re-evaluates the validity of the HFSSM for residents on Hawai'i and in doing so, also learn about the food experiences of AANHPI, which is underrepresented in food security research.

Through the generosity of the UCGHI Master’s Student Stipend (MASS) Program, I had the opportunity to travel to O'ahu to facilitate community outreach, recruit study participants, and conduct qualitative interviews at The Pantry. A qualitative interview guide was developed in partnership with The Pantry and captured information about participant experiences when acquiring food from food pantries and non-profit food spaces, attitudes toward food, understanding of food insecurity and factors influencing their food-related decisions, and relationship with institutional-based food assistance programs. As I continue to analyze the qualitative data, I also reflect on the lived experience I had working on the ground in O'ahu's Kalihi neighborhood, the location of The Pantry. From shopping for groceries to make my own food to talking with locals about their favorite foods and experiences, I was able to learn a lot about O’ahu, Kalihi and people’s food security outside of research. I also assisted The Pantry with their food distribution efforts, and through this hands-on experience, I was able to learn a lot more about people’s food experiences that helped shape the qualitative interview approaches. Being able to serve the community, build relationships with community members and further understand the environmental and neighborhood contexts, are not only critical to ensuring that the qualitative analyses are accurate and grounded in community lived experiences, but is crucial in paving the way for substantive change through building knowledge as means of community empowerment.

Having the privilege of having the funding to conduct this research, specifically within a community that has historically been underrepresented in data and policy, has definitely been paramount in supporting my personal journey of being a scholar-activist, but it has also allowed me to critically engage in community-based research and relationship/trust building in ways I had never expected or realized are possible in research.