A recent study published in The Journal of Nutrition reported that, apart from Mexico, few changes in food insecurity were observed from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that income support and other program responses to the pandemic may have mitigated vulnerability to food insecurity.

Food insecurity is a serious public health problem and has the greatest impact on those who are the most socially and economically disadvantaged. Studies suggest that the prevalence of food insecurity in numerous countries may have increased during the early stages of the pandemic. However, differences in measures used to assess the prevalence and severity of food insecurity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic complicate comparisons across time points. To bridge this knowledge gap, Pepetone (University of Waterloo) and colleagues examined changes in the prevalence and severity of food insecurity among adults (18 – 100 years of age) and youth (10 – 17 years of age) in multiple countries using consistent measures of food insecurity before to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Repeated cross-sectional data were collected in 6 countries (Australia, Canada, Chile [youth only], Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States) in November to December 2019 and 2020. These countries were selected because of similarities in culture, official languages, and food environments. Through an online survey, the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module, routinely used in research and surveillance, was used to assess household food security status among adults. The youth survey included the recently developed 10-item Child Food Insecurity Experiences Scale.

Study results found evidence of increasing likelihood and severity (adults) or numbers of experiences (youth) of food insecurity from 2019 to 2020 in Mexico. The proportions of youth reporting many experiences of food insecurity also increased in Australia and the United States from 2019 to 2020. However, among adults and youth in the remaining countries, the likelihood of food insecurity was either lower or unchanged from 2019 to 2020 with assessment of severity suggesting improvements or no changes. These results are largely attributed to interventions implemented by many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic to make food more available and affordable.

In a companion commentary, Gundersen (Baylor University) further elaborates on the impact of charitable food assistance, government assistance, and the resiliency of agricultural supply chains on food insecurity rates. 

References

Pepetone A, Frongillo EA, Dodd KW, Wallace MP, Hammond D, Kirkpatrick SI. Prevalence and Severity of Food Insecurity Before and During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Among Adults and Youth in Australia Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 153, Issue 4, April 2023, Pages 1231-1243, doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2022.12.031.

Gundersen C. Lessons Learned from the Lack of Increase in Food Insecurity during COVID-19. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 153, Issue 4, April 2023, Pages 920-921, doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.020.

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Kathy Beerman, PhD

Dr. Kathy Beerman teaches in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University. The author of several published articles, she is interested in research that focuses on the efficacy of a novel approach to treating iron deficiency anemia in rural regions of Guatemala and Ecuador. Dr. Beerman teaches an undergraduate nutrition course for health majors, as well as a course that prepares students to participate in a 10-day medical mission to Guatemala. Since joining the faculty at Washington State University in 1990, she has been the recipient of several teaching awards (the Burlington Northern Faculty Meritorious Achievement in Teaching Award, the R.M. Wade Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction). More recently, she received the CAS Outstanding Achievement Award in International Activities (2017) and the President’s Award for Leadership (2018). Other scholarly activities include co-author of two introductory nutrition textbooks (Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food and NUTR).