| Literature DB >> 32498323 |
Julia A Wolfson1,2, Cindy W Leung2.
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.Entities:
Keywords: covid-19; disparities; food insecurity; low-income adults; survey
Mesh:
Year: 2020 PMID: 32498323 PMCID: PMC7352694 DOI: 10.3390/nu12061648
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Nutrients ISSN: 2072-6643 Impact factor: 5.717
Demographic characteristics of the study sample overall and by food security status (n = 1478).
| Overall | Food Security Status | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Marginal | Low | Very Low | |||
| Total | 1478 (100) | 532 (36) | 290 (20) | 256 (17) | 400 (27) | |
| Age | ||||||
| 18–39 | 635 (43) | 168 (26) | 116 (18) | 140 (22) | 211 (33) | <0.001 |
| 40–59 | 429 (29) | 152 (35) | 88 (21) | 62 (14) | 127 (30) | |
| ≥60 | 414 (28) | 212 (51) | 86 (21) | 54 (13) | 62 (15) | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 733 (50) | 285 (39) | 135 (18) | 128 (17) | 185 (25) | 0.100 |
| Female | 745 (50) | 247 (33) | 155 (21) | 128 (17) | 215 (29) | |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| NH White | 990 (67) | 384 (39) | 185 (19) | 160 (16) | 261 (26) | 0.026 |
| NH Black | 161 (11) | 47 (29) | 36 (22) | 36 (22) | 42 (26) | |
| Hispanic | 186 (13) | 55 (30) | 35 (19) | 39 (21) | 57 (31) | |
| Asian | 73 (5) | 24 (33) | 23 (32) | 11 (15) | 15 (21) | |
| Other | 68 (5) | 22 (32) | 11 (16) | 10 (15) | 25 (37) | |
| Household Size | ||||||
| 1–3 people | 1113 (75) | 416 (37) | 219 (20) | 177 (16) | 301 (27) | 0.054 |
| ≥4 people | 365 (25) | 116 (32) | 71 (19) | 79 (22) | 99 (27) | |
| Marital Status | ||||||
| Single, never married | 564 (38) | 199 (35) | 108 (19) | 118 (21) | 139 (35) | <0.001 |
| Married | 448 (30) | 180 (40) | 91 (20) | 68 (15) | 109 (24) | |
| Separated, divorced, widowed | 311 (21) | 124 (40) | 58 (19) | 43 (14) | 86 (28) | |
| Living with a partner | 150 (10) | 27 (18) | 32 (21) | 26 (17) | 65 (43) | |
| Children < 18 years in home | ||||||
| Yes | 445 (30) | 120 (27) | 85 (19) | 92 (21) | 148 (33) | <0.001 |
| No | 1033 (70) | 412 (40) | 205 (20) | 164 (16) | 252 (24) | |
| Income | ||||||
| <$35,000/year | 894 (60) | 297 (33) | 175 (20) | 165 (18) | 257 (29) | 0.015 |
| $35,000 ≤ $59,000/year | 418 (28) | 162 (39) | 75 (18) | 69 (17) | 112 (27) | |
| ≥$59,000/year | 166 (11) | 73 (44) | 40 (24) | 22 (13) | 31 (19) | |
| Education | ||||||
| High school/GED | 439 (30) | 122 (28) | 83 (19) | 91 (21) | 143 (33) | <0.001 |
| Some college | 524 (35) | 197 (38) | 104 (29) | 75 (14) | 148 (28) | |
| College/grad degree | 515 (35) | 213 (41) | 103 (20) | 90 (17) | 109 (21) | |
| Employment status | ||||||
| Full time job (hourly or salary) | 408 (29) | 139 (34) | 68 (17) | 81 (20) | 120 (29) | 0.002 |
| Part time job (hourly or salary) | 239 (17) | 83 (35) | 51 (21) | 41 (17) | 64 (27) | |
| Not working, looking for work | 197 (14) | 58 (29) | 38 (19) | 38 (19) | 63 (32) | |
| Not working, not looking for work | 415 (30) | 186 (45) | 86 (21) | 55 (13) | 88 (21) | |
| Home-maker | 141 (10) | 46 (33) | 27 (19) | 21 (15) | 47 (33) | |
| Student | ||||||
| Yes | 95 (6) | 29 (31) | 26 (27) | 20 (21) | 20 (21) | 0.106 |
| No | 1383 (94) | 503 (36) | 264 (19) | 236 (17) | 380 (27) | |
| Home ownership | ||||||
| Rent | 744 (50) | 201 (27) | 144 (19) | 154 (21) | 245 (33) | <0.001 |
| Own | 538 (43) | 287 (45) | 128 (20) | 89 (14) | 134 (21) | |
| Other | 96 (7) | 44 (46) | 18 (19) | 13 (14) | 21 (22) | |
| Health insurance | ||||||
| None | 231 (16) | 68 (29) | 40 (17) | 35 (15) | 88 (38) | <0.001 |
| Yes, through work | 260 (18) | 97 (37) | 45 (17) | 57 (22) | 61 (23) | |
| Yes, Medicare | 437 (30) | 189 (43) | 83 (19) | 73 (17) | 92 (21) | |
| Yes, Medicaid | 338 (23) | 91 (27) | 73 (22) | 55 (16) | 119 (35) | |
| Yes, other | 212 (14) | 87 (41) | 49 (23) | 35 (17) | 40 (19) | |
| Political party affiliation | ||||||
| Republican | 396 (27) | 174 (44) | 76 (19) | 50 (13) | 96 (24) | 0.004 |
| Democrat | 594 (40) | 190 (32) | 124 (21) | 115 (19) | 165 (28) | |
| Independent | 488 (33) | 168 (34) | 90 (18) | 91 (19) | 139 (28) | |
| SNAP benefits | ||||||
| No | 1065 (72) | 452 (42) | 207 (19) | 182 (17) | 224 (21) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 413 (28) | 80 (19) | 83 (20) | 74 (18) | 176 (43) | |
| Region of residence | ||||||
| Northeast | 273 (18) | 90 (33) | 57 (21) | 59 (22) | 67 (25) | 0.406 |
| Midwest | 332 (22) | 127 (38) | 69 (21) | 47 (14) | 89 (27) | |
| South | 542 (37) | 196 (36) | 95 (18) | 97 (18) | 154 (28) | |
| West | 331 (22) | 119 (36) | 69 (21) | 53 (16) | 90 (27) | |
a Column percentage; b Row percentage.
Figure 1Ability to comply with recommendation to stock up on two weeks of food among low-income US adults, by food security status (n = 1478). Question text: “Experts have recommended stocking up on two weeks of food for your household to prepare for the coronavirus. Have you been able to do this? [Please check all that apply. One respondent was missing data for this question and was excluded from analysis. Differences within each response option by food security status are significant at p < 0.001 based on chi-squared tests.
Figure 2Challenges encountered by low-income US adults as a result of COVID-19, as of 19–24 March, by food security status (n = 1478). Question text: “Have you experienced any of the following challenges due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) so far?” [Please check all that apply] Percentages reflect the percent of respondents in each food security category that said they encountered that problem. Ten percent of respondents (n = 161) did not indicate any of the response options were challenges for them and are counted as ‘missing’.
COVID-19 effects on workplaces among low-income adults working full or part time in the US overall and by food security status as of 19–24 March 2020 (n = 655).
| Overall ( | Food Security Status | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Marginal | Low | Very Low | |||
| What is your workplace doing to adjust to COVID-19? c | ||||||
| Nothing, proceeding as normal | 152 (23) | 64 (42) | 27 (18) | 25 (16) | 36 (24) | 0.004 |
| Employees encouraged to work at home | 69 (11) | 15 (22) | 17 (25) | 17 (25) | 20 (29) | |
| Employees must work at home | 69 (11) | 17 (25) | 14 (20) | 16 (23) | 22 (32) | |
| Essential employees must come in, others work from home | 58 (9) | 29 (50) | 5 (9) | 14 (24) | 10 (32) | |
| Hours are reduced | 79 (12) | 20 (25) | 11 (14) | 17 (22) | 31 (39) | |
| Temporarily closed | 131 (20) | 44 (34) | 27 (21) | 21 (16) | 39 (30) | |
| Closed and I have been laid off | 25 (4) | 11 (44) | 6 (24) | 3 (12) | 5 (20) | |
| Busier, employees working extra hours | 47 (7) | 21 (45) | 9 (19) | 8 (17) | 9 (19) | |
| If you or someone in your family becomes ill with COVID-19, what do you expect will happen regarding your job? c (check all that apply) | ||||||
| I will be able to stay home without using sick or vacation days | 162 (26) | 71 (44) | 31 (19) | 31 (19) | 29 (18) | 0.003 |
| I will be able to use sick days to stay home without losing income | 123 (19) | 55 (45) | 22 (18) | 23 (19) | 23 (19) | 0.022 |
| I will be able to use vacation days to stay home without losing income | 74 (12) | 27 (36) | 11 (15) | 17 (23) | 19 (26) | 0.573 |
| I do not have sick days so if I am not able to work I will lose income | 260 (41) | 72 (28) | 49 (19) | 45 (17) | 94 (36) | 0.002 |
| I will have to go into work even if I am sick | 33 (5) | 6 (18) | 6 (18) | 8 (24) | 13 (39) | 0.180 |
| If I miss too many days of work I could lose my job | 61 (10) | 11 (18) | 9 (15) | 9 (15) | 32 (52) | <0.001 |
a Column percentage; b Row percentage; c Asked among respondents who are working full or part time.
Distribution of the Sample by State.
| State |
| Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 22 | 1.49 |
| Alaska | 3 | 0.2 |
| Arizona | 35 | 2.37 |
| Arkansas | 16 | 1.08 |
| California | 150 | 10.15 |
| Colorado | 19 | 1.29 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 0.68 |
| Delaware | 7 | 0.47 |
| District of Columbia | 2 | 0.14 |
| Florida | 102 | 6.9 |
| Georgia | 50 | 3.38 |
| Hawaii | 7 | 0.47 |
| Idaho | 8 | 0.54 |
| Illinois | 62 | 4.19 |
| Indiana | 28 | 1.89 |
| Iowa | 11 | 0.74 |
| Kansas | 19 | 1.29 |
| Kentucky | 27 | 1.83 |
| Louisiana | 17 | 1.15 |
| Maine | 10 | 0.68 |
| Maryland | 20 | 1.35 |
| Massachusetts | 26 | 1.76 |
| Michigan | 58 | 3.92 |
| Minnesota | 21 | 1.42 |
| Mississippi | 14 | 0.95 |
| Missouri | 30 | 2.03 |
| Montana | 4 | 0.27 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 0.34 |
| Nevada | 26 | 1.76 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | 0.41 |
| New Jersey | 37 | 2.5 |
| New Mexico | 13 | 0.88 |
| New York | 100 | 6.77 |
| North Carolina | 52 | 3.52 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | 68 | 4.6 |
| Oklahoma | 25 | 1.69 |
| Oregon | 17 | 1.15 |
| Pennsylvania | 72 | 4.87 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 0.2 |
| South Carolina | 30 | 2.03 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 0.2 |
| Tennessee | 31 | 2.1 |
| Texas | 90 | 6.09 |
| Utah | 21 | 1.42 |
| Vermont | 3 | 0.2 |
| Virginia | 29 | 1.96 |
| Washington | 28 | 1.89 |
| West Virginia | 13 | 0.88 |
| Wisconsin | 28 | 1.89 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 |
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