Food Insecurity and COVID-19: Disparities in Early Effects for US Adults

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased food insecurity in the United States (US). The objective of this study was to understand the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among low-income adults in the US as social distancing measures began to be implemented. On 19–24 March 2020 we fielded a national, web-based survey (53% response rate) among adults with <250% of the federal poverty line in the US (N = 1478). Measures included household food security status and COVID-19-related basic needs challenges. Overall, 36% of low-income adults in the US were food secure, 20% had marginal food security, and 44% were food insecure. Less than one in five (18.8%) of adults with very low food security reported being able to comply with public health recommendations to purchase two weeks of food at a time. For every basic needs challenge, food-insecure adults were significantly more likely to report facing that challenge, with a clear gradient effect based on severity of food security. The short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are magnifying existing disparities and disproportionately affecting low-income, food-insecure households that already struggle to meet basic needs. A robust, comprehensive policy response is needed to mitigate food insecurity as the pandemic progresses.

Social Determinants of Poor Management of Type 2 Diabetes Among the Insured

“…Currently, increases in the number of uninsured adults are 39% higher than any annual increase ever recorded [ 52 ]. Four out of 10 low-income Americans are already struggling to afford enough food for their households [ 53 ]. Nearly every state has had record levels of unemployment [ 54 ].…”

Nutrition among Vulnerable U.S. Populations

“…In order to begin to fill this gap, this Special Issue on “Nutrition Among Vulnerable Populations” features papers quantifying dietary intake, nutritional status, access to food and food security, barriers to healthful foods and food security and environmental influences experienced by vulnerable groups with a high prevalence of food insecurity. The following sections summarize the findings of the four papers on children [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], three papers on adults [ 17 , 18 , 19 ] and three papers featuring studies of families or households ( Figure 1 ) [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

“…Advances in knowledge of the nutrient intake and health risks associated with food security along [ 17 , 18 ] with early effects of the coronavirus pandemic [ 19 ] among U.S. adults are featured separately in three articles. Total usual micronutrient intakes from foods, beverages and dietary supplements were compared to the dietary reference intakes among U.S. adults ≥19 years by sex and food security status using nationally representative data from the NHANES [ 17 ].…”

“…The authors hypothesized that the chronic stress of food insecurity may facilitate the association with chronic poor health outcomes for women [ 18 ]. Another national, although not representative, sample of low-income (<250% of the federal poverty line) U.S. adults ≥18 years old completed a web-based survey to determine the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a critical first look at how low-income families are coping with economic and lifestyle changes [ 19 ]. Approximately 44% were food insecure, and were significantly more likely to report basic needs challenges compared with food secure adults, with the group experiencing very low food security reporting the most severe difficulties.…”

“…Approximately 44% were food insecure, and were significantly more likely to report basic needs challenges compared with food secure adults, with the group experiencing very low food security reporting the most severe difficulties. Food insecure compared with food secure adults were more vulnerable to the economic, dietary and health risks of the pandemic [ 19 ]. These current and ongoing effects of the pandemic may compound the micronutrient and cumulative biological risk disparities discovered and documented in these Special Issue articles on U.S. adults.…”