Single parents and seniors are believed to encounter more food insecurity due to a complex web of disadvantages and discrimination. We carried out a community-based cross-sectional survey of single parents and seniors in an urban population to explore the level of nutritional awareness, household meal practices, challenges, and their coping strategies. The survey questionnaire was adapted from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Fifty single parents and forty-eight seniors were interviewed in the city of St. John’s, Canada. Findings indicate that single parents were more disadvantaged than seniors and more vulnerable to food insecurity. For seniors, in addition to poverty, existing physical disabilities and loneliness limit the use of public transportation to grocery stores and affect their ability/motivation to prepare balanced home-made meals. The jobs of single parents result in time constraints, which limit the attention they can give to the quality of their children’s diets and to accessing information about cheap yet healthy diet alternatives. We conclude by strongly advocating for improving the social safety net, particularly for single parents, for instance by promoting financial security, skill development, flexible working hours, and affordable childcare. Seniors need interaction with peers to encourage the eating of balanced meals, along with the increased promotion of healthy foods.

由于复杂的不利条件和歧视网络，单亲父母和老年人被认为面临更多的粮食不安全问题。我们对城市人口中的单亲父母和老年人进行了一项基于社区的横断面调查，以探讨他们的营养意识水平、家庭膳食习惯、挑战及其应对策略。调查问卷改编自加拿大社区健康调查。加拿大圣约翰市的 50 名单亲家长和 48 名老年人接受了采访。调查结果表明，单亲父母比老年人处于更不利的地位，更容易受到粮食不安全的影响。对于老年人来说，除了贫困之外，现有的身体残疾和孤独感限制了他们使用公共交通前往杂货店，并影响了他们准备均衡的自制膳食的能力/动机。单亲父母的工作导致时间有限，这限制了他们对孩子饮食质量的关注以及获取有关廉价但健康的饮食替代品的信息。最后，我们强烈主张改善社会安全网，特别是单亲父母的社会安全网，例如通过促进财务安全、技能发展、灵活的工作时间和负担得起的儿童保育服务。老年人需要与同龄人互动，鼓励均衡膳食，并加强健康食品的推广。