The Early Food Insecurity Impacts of COVID-19

  1. Meredith T. Niles
  2. Farryl Bertmann
  3. Emily H. Belarmino
  4. Thomas Wentworth
  5. Erin Biehl
  6. Roni Neff

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Abstract

COVID-19 has disrupted food access and impacted food insecurity, which is associated with numerous adverse individual and public health outcomes. To assess these challenges and understand their impact on food security, we conducted a statewide population-level survey using a convenience sample in Vermont from 29 March to 12 April 2020, during the beginning of a statewide stay-at-home order. We utilized the United States Department of Agriculture six-item validated food security module to measure food insecurity before COVID-19 and since COVID-19. We assessed food insecurity prevalence and reported food access challenges, coping strategies, and perceived helpful interventions among food secure, consistently food insecure (pre-and post-COVID-19), and newly food insecure (post COVID-19) respondents. Among 3219 respondents, there was nearly a one-third increase (32.3%) in household food insecurity since COVID-19 (p < 0.001), with 35.5% of food insecure households classified as newly food insecure. Respondents experiencing a job loss were at higher odds of experiencing food insecurity (OR 3.06; 95% CI, 2.114–0.46). We report multiple physical and economic barriers, as well as concerns related to food access during COVID-19. Respondents experiencing household food insecurity had higher odds of facing access challenges and utilizing coping strategies, including two-thirds of households eating less since COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Significant differences in coping strategies were documented between respondents in newly food insecure vs. consistently insecure households. These findings have important potential impacts on individual health, including mental health and malnutrition, as well as on future healthcare costs. We suggest proactive strategies to address food insecurity during this crisis.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.3390/nu12072096
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.05.09.20096412: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIRB: We obtained Institutional Review Board approval from the University of Vermont (IRB protocol 00000873).
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variableWe used four methods for convenience sample recruitment: 1) Paid advertisements via Front Porch Forum, a community-level listserv, which reaches approximately 2/3 of Vermont households19; 2) Paid digital ads via Facebook to reach populations under-represented in Front Porch Forum (e.g., males, lower-income households); 3) Listservs of community partners; 4) A University of Vermont press release and subsequent newspaper, radio, and television media.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    The limitations are partly rooted in the need to rapidly administer this survey in the early days of the pandemic, to provide data that can be tracked over time. Though our respondent population matches statewide census statistics closely on many metrics, this was a convenience sample; further research is expanding these results using similar questions with representative samples across states and populations. Further, we utilize an internet-based survey given the necessity of social distancing during COVID-19 and the need for a rapid response, which may limit the capacity of some people to participate, though 81% of Vermonters do have internet plans23. The study’s strengths include its large sample size, early administration, population-based assessment, and survey instrument addressing the multiple dimensions of food security. We implemented this survey in the beginning of a stay at home order and COVID-19 economic impacts. As such, it is likely that many respondents experiencing job loss or disruption had not yet received unemployment benefits and federal stimulus checks were not distributed. Future research will examine the evolution of food security impacts, and how various interventions, including the CARE Act and unemployment benefits, as well as food assistance expansion and health care screenings, may affect food insecurity outcomes as COVID-19 unfolds.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.05.09.20096412v1 on medRxiv