Unemployment, SNAP Enrollment, and Food Insecurity Before and After California's COVID-19 Shutdown.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the decrease in very low food security (VLFS) observed in California shortly after California's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shutdown remained throughout Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2020. To investigate associations among unemployment, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment, and VLFS across FFY 2020. METHODS: Telephone interview responses from mothers from randomly sampled households from low-income areas throughout California to the 6-item US Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey Module identified VLFS families. Logistic regression examined VLFS rates before vs after California's COVID-19 shutdown, with race/ethnicity, age, and education as covariates. Pearson correlations were calculated for unemployment, SNAP enrollment, and VLFS. RESULTS: Most (66.4%) of the 2,682 mothers were Latina. VLFS declined from 19.3% before to 14.5% after California's COVID-19 shutdown (adjusted odds ratio, 0.705; P = 0.002). The correlation for unemployment and SNAP household participation was 0.854 (P = 0.007), and for SNAP participation and VLFS was -0.869 (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Publicly-funded assistance programs may lower food insecurity, even during a time of increased economic hardship. Examining the specific factors responsible for the observed decline in VLFS has merit. Whether VLFS remains below the rate observed before California's COVID-19 shutdown is worthy of ongoing study.

Very Low Food Security Among Low-Income Households With Children in California Before and Shortly After the Economic Downturn From COVID-19.

We examined levels of very low food security (VLFS) among low-income households with children in California before and shortly after the economic downturn from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Households were randomly sampled in 2018, 2019, and 2020; 11,653 mothers were administered the US Department of Agriculture 6-item Food Security Survey Module. Post-COVID-19 (April 27 to July 21, 2020, a period when stay-at-home restrictions were eased in the state), 14.0% of mothers reported VLFS versus 19.3% pre-COVID-19 (November 21, 2019, to March 14, 2020) (P = .003), 22.2% in 2019 (P < .001), and 19.0% in 2018 (P = .004). Existing systems to quickly obtain food assistance benefits in California and new federal benefits available in response to COVID-19 may have reduced VLFS.