Today, we continue our series on food insecurity and the connection to becoming and remaining unhoused. We will be focusing on how food insecurity makes chronic illness worse, speeds up physical decline, while making it harder for someone to recover, work, and move forward.
Food Insecurity Is a Health Problem
Feeding America defines food insecurity as, “Food insecurity is when people can’t access the food they need to live their fullest lives. There are many causes of food insecurity. But one thing is clear: financial security for everyone is the most effective way to end hunger.” More simply put, food insecurity is a lack of access to enough nutritious food to properly nourish the body. For someone with a chronic condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or an autoimmune disorder, food insecurity is especially dangerous. When meals are skipped, low-quality, or unpredictable, blood sugar swings, blood pressure rises, and inflammation increases.
Research shows food insecurity is directly linked to higher A1C levels and is associated with not having enough food and/ or not having access to nutritious foods, according to The National Diabetes Association.
Multiple sources also cite that people who are food insecure are far more likely to skip doses, split pills, or stop filling prescriptions because they must choose between paying for food and paying for medicine. Without enough nutritious food, health issues compound quickly. These health issues compound, leading to the need for medical treatment and resulting in medical bills that stress already tight budgets. Once again, this situation compounds.
Being Unhoused Speeds Up Physical Decline
When you stack being unhoused on top of hunger, the toll on the body accelerates.
In a recent study of adults experiencing homelessness in California, 45% reported fair or poor physical health, 60% had one or more chronic health conditions, and more than a third had difficulty with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, or walking, according to the California Health Care Foundation. We know that being unhoused takes an enormous toll on the body, both physically and mentally.
According to the National Institutes of Health, mortality rates among people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. are 4.5 to 9.6 times higher than those of the general population. A 2025 study published in The Lancet Public Health found that people experiencing homelessness in Denmark lose an average of about 15 years of life compared to the general population, 15.9 years for men and 15.3 years for women.
How the Compounding Continues
When an individual loses stable housing. They lose a kitchen, and therefore they cannot prepare the meals their doctor recommended or maintain proper nutrition. Available food is often prepackaged, not fresh fruits, meats, cheese, or vegetables. This prepackaged food is mostly classified as junk food – chips, crackers, candy, etc. Without a refrigerator, insulin cannot be stored safely, nor can eggs, meat, or dairy be stored for later use. The first domino falls- nutrition.
Without stable housing, sleep becomes difficult, whether couch surfing, sleeping in one’s car, camping, or sleeping in a shelter. Simply put, sleep falls apart, and poor sleep alone raises blood pressure and blood sugar. Stress hormones remain elevated throughout the day. It is also widely known that sleep directly impacts mood and can impact mental health. Another domino falls-
With a lack of adequate food, an underlying health condition, and a lack of sleep, an illness gets worse. The person ends up in the emergency room, which is the most expensive form of care and the least equipped to manage a long-term condition. They are discharged back into the same conditions that landed them there. The cycle repeats, degrading the individual’s health each time.
Why It Affects Employment
The piece of this that gets the least attention is also one of the most important: employment.
It is very hard to interview for a job, hold a shift, or learn a new skill when you are hungry, in pain, sleep-deprived, and managing an uncontrolled chronic illness. The conditions of homelessness are the same conditions that make it hardest to get out of homelessness. That is the spiral. This is where this all compounds and can trap those who do not know how to navigate or have the support to find their way out.
What Actually Breaks the Cycle
A shelter bed alone does not fix this. A visit to a food pantry alone does not fix this. What works is meeting all three needs at once: housing, food, and access to consistent healthcare. Bringing those pieces together, people stabilize, and chronic conditions become manageable. Sleep improves, stress drops, and work becomes possible again.
That is the work we do every day in coordination with our partners in Michigan City and across La Porte County; we stop the spiral and support stability. Food, housing, and healthcare are not separate problems. They are the same problem, and we treat them as such.
If you want to be part of the response in our community, donate food, time, and resources to help those in need find their way out of the spiral and back to stability.
