Hunger in the home may be doing more than harming health — it may also be undermining safety.
A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that people facing food insecurity and housing instability are more likely to store firearms unsafely. The findings add weight to growing research that shows how unmet basic needs, like access to food, affect far more than diet alone.
“Gun violence isn’t just about individual behavior or mental health,” said lead author Tarang Parekh, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware. “We need to understand the broader social conditions that drive gun ownership and influence how firearms are stored.”
The study analyzed survey data from nearly 63,000 adults in California, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio — the only states in 2022 that included questions about both firearm storage and social determinants of health. Among those surveyed, food insecurity, financial strain and lack of stable housing were all significantly linked with unsafe firearm storage behaviors.
Parekh said the findings surprised even him.
“I expected to see financial hardship and living in an unsafe environment impact gun ownership and storage behaviors,” he said. “But I was not expecting to see social drivers like food and housing insecurity and transportation barriers to have such a significant impact on firearm storage behaviors.”
Researchers noted that while gun ownership was more common in higher-income households, unsafe storage was most prevalent in lower-income, non-Hispanic Black households, many of which also reported depression, substance use or other high-risk stressors.
The results suggest that food access and home stability aren’t just public health issues — they’re community safety issues. Parekh advocates for community-level interventions and economic supports alongside firearm safety education.
“We constantly talk about changing laws, but laws alone won’t solve the problem,” he said. “We need to invest in our communities to improve the social and environmental factors that contribute to firearm ownership.”
This research was supported by internal University of Delaware College of Health Sciences funds.