Food Security, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, is “the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.
Food security entails four important dimensions:
Availability: The physical availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality that is supplied through domestic production or imports (including food aid).
Access: Access by individuals to adequate resources for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
Utilisation: Utilisation of food through an adequate diet and nutrition, clean water, sanitation and healthcare to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met.
Stability: Access of a population, household or individual to adequate food at all times. Access to food should not be lost as a consequence of sudden shocks (e.g. an economic or climatic crisis) or cyclical events (e.g. seasonal food insecurity).