Economic Survival Strategies and Food Insecurity

Abstract

This article reports on a study of 67 Hurricane Katrina survivors who were evacuated to one Texas community. The authors examine the economic survival strategies employed by Katrina evacuees to feed their families during the approximately one week time frame beginning the day before the storm and ending when they were ultimately evacuated from New Orleans. An analysis of their strategies and actions provides insight both into the nature of households and sharing networks under the pressure of this disaster and the shortages that ensue when federal and state systems cannot meet basic needs beyond the resources of the local community.