Abstract
Japan has suffered many earthquakes in recent times. These earthquakes have altered the food environment and affected the lives and daily activities of their victims. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of the changes in food accessibility, methods of obtaining food and the frequency of food consumption among the households living in the temporary housing and disaster-stricken housing before and after the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake. Some households living in the temporary housing had an increased access to fresh foods such as fish, meat, and vegetables after the earthquake, but others living in temporary housing did not. However, many households living in the temporary housing had an increased access to convenience foods. In the temporary housing, the number of self-sufficient households and those purchasing their foods from small shops decreased, while those receiving their foods from local government or from their neighbors increased after the earthquake. Both these types of households reduced the frequency of their consumption of rice, fresh foods and snacks immediately after the earthquake and resumed the frequency of their consumption of these foods four to five months after its occurrence. The above results suggest the need for different forms of support for the flow of food supply between households living in temporary housing and disaster-stricken housing.
