Understanding Food Insecurity and Participation in Food Assistance Programs among Hispanic/Latino Residents of Hialeah, Florida, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI found the article very interesting. I have a few doubts:
1) What instrument was used to classify food security into three categories?
2) If the objective was to understand the factors associated with food insecurity why wasn't the analysis stratified for Low food security and Very low food security? I think this analysis is essential.
3) Were there any losses in the selection of volunteers? What are the possible explanations?
4) What are the limitations and strengths of the study?
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor reviews its necessary.
Author Response
Please see the attachment. Thank you so much!
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI congratulate you on the topic addressed. It is an interesting and particularly sensitive subject, which you treated with great care.
However, the study can be restructured for an easier approach to the readers and for a better understanding of this phenomenon.
- The introduction can be restructured through a brief presentation of the basic ideas, related to the food security of the population in the analyzed area.
- at 2. Literature Review, a much more succinct approach is needed.
Ex. 2.2. The United States Food Insecurity and Poverty Crisis can only be presented under the aspect of local influence and not as history with implications that do not concern the analyzed area. The same suggestions are for 2.3. Hispanic/Latino Food Insecurity and Access.
At 2.6. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Food Assistance Systems would require a clear presentation of the situation in the geographical space chosen for the study, compared to the national one - a comparative study. Was the area similarly or differently affected? a national presentation is not relevant for the study. A comparative presentation is necessary.
- At the presentation of 3. Materials and Methods, perhaps a restructuring of the data would be necessary.
Ex. at 3.3. Geospatial Mapping is mentioned (See Figure 1). Figure 1 also zooms in on Hialeah's southern region, where many emergency food outlets operate". Where is it????
- at 4. Results
There are 21 tables. Each of them contains interesting information, but they could be grouped (including choosing a form of representation other than a table) so that the result is suggestive. The presentation is very extensive!
Discussions and Conclusions are clear and quite well presented.
Author Response
Please see the attachment. Thank you so much!
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper provides a compelling perspective on understanding food insecurity and participation in food assistance programs among Hispanic/Latino residents of Hialeah.
The purpose of the paper is well-formulated, and the research methods, specifically the use of Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regression models to assess the relationships, are appropriate and correct.
Nevertheless, there are minor areas that could be improved.
First of all, the paper is very long, suggesting a lack of editorial synthesis skills by the authors. I suggest moving the tables to an appendix or dividing the paper into three separate ones, each addressing a distinct research question. In its current form, the paper is more suitable for a scientific monograph.
Additionally, I recommend describing the methodology in more detail and conducting a deeper qualitative analysis to provide more comprehensive information about the causes and effects of food insecurity.
The conclusions from the research are very modest. Please develop it. From 45 and a half pages of text, only half a page is dedicated to conclusions.
Finally, I suggest justifying the text for better readability.
Author Response
Please see the attachment. Thank you so much!
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe changes made in the study are according to the expressed requirements.
