To explore and provide contextual meaning around issues surrounding food insecurity, namely factors influencing food access, as one domain of food security.

A community-based, qualitative inquiry using semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted as part of a larger sequential mixed-methods study.

Cayo District, Belize, May 2019–August 2019.

Thirty English-speaking individuals (eight males, twenty-two females) between the ages of 18–70, with varying family composition residing within the Cayo District.

Participants describe a complex interconnectedness between family- and individual-level barriers to food access. Specifically, family composition, income, education and employment influence individuals’ ability to afford and access food for themselves or their families. Participants also cite challenges with transportation and distance to food sources and educational opportunities as barriers to accessing food.

These findings provide insight around food security and food access barriers in a middle-income country and provide avenues for further study and potential interventions. Increased and sustained investment in primary and secondary education, including programmes to support enrollment, should be a priority to decreasing food insecurity. Attention to building public infrastructure may also ease burdens around accessing foods.

Despite the benefits of fruit and vegetable intake, many young Americans do not consume them at adequate levels. The present study sought to determine the beliefs that children have about asking their parents to have fruits and vegetables available at home in order to better understand the role children may play in influencing their own fruit and vegetable consumption.

An instrument utilizing the Reasoned Action Approach, with closed-ended questions on demographic and behavioural variables and open-ended questions eliciting the belief structure underlying asking parents to make fruits and vegetables available, was distributed. Thematic and frequency analyses were performed for open-ended questions. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess differences between children who had v. had not asked for fruits and vegetables.

Three middle schools in rural Indiana, USA.

A sub-sample of sixty students aged 12–15 years from a larger study of 344 students.

Qualitative analysis identified benefits (i.e. make me healthier; make parents happy), disadvantages (i.e. will upset my parents) and strategies (i.e. asking when you are at the store) that could be used to improve fruit and vegetable intake. Findings also revealed that students who asked their parents for fruits and vegetables were significantly more likely to perform several healthy eating and physical activity behaviours.

Data suggest that young people's view of parental reactions is critical. While additional research is necessary, the findings support a role for children in shaping their own environment and suggest multilevel interventions that simultaneously address parents and children.