Predictors of Food and Water Stockpiling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant disruptions in food supply chains, which increased consumers’ concern about possible food shortages and price gouging. To ensure personal food security, many consumers began stockpiling food and water in unusually large amounts.The goal of this study was to investigate individual- and household-level predictors of food and water stockpiling (FWS) in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic among Non-Latino Black and Latino adults.This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data. Participants were 2,174 Non-Latino Black (66.4%) and Latino (33.6%) adults residing in a Midwestern state, who completed the survey in either May or June/July 2020.Participants were asked to self-report (yes or no) if they stockpiled food and/or water in the prior 7 days in response to the pandemic. A variety of variables was examined, including education level, annual income, employment status, concerns about COVID-19, and self-quarantine status. Crude and adjusted logistic regressions were used to identify variables associated with FWS.Non-Latino Black participants had lower odds of reporting FWS compared to Latinos (OR 0.64, 95% CI, 0.51-0.79). Similarly, participants who were not concerned about COVID-19 had lower odds of FWS compared with those extremely concerned (OR 0.37, 95% CI, 0.20 – 0.71). In contrast, odds of FWS were higher among participants who were self-quarantining all the time compared to those who were not (OR 2.16, 95% CI, 1.31 – 3.59).Results showed that Latinos, adults concerned about COVID-19, and self-quarantine status had significantly higher odds of FWS during the pandemic.

Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Food Security Status

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in record high unemployment rates that topped the Great Depression. As a result, the prevalence of food insecurity increased exponentially, with Blacks and Latinos experiencing disproportionately higher rates of food insecurity.We examined associations between change in employment status due to the pandemic and food insecurity among a large sample of Black and Latino adults in a Midwestern state. Furthermore, we evaluated the role of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation to determine if it modified associations between change in employment status and food security status.We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected from a volunteer sample of 1,776 Black and Latino adults in 2 waves: May and June/July 2020.Participants listed their change in employment status as follows: “lost job entirely”, “employed, but had paid hours reduced”, “employed, but anticipate job lost soon”, or “no change”. Participants self-reported SNAP participation status as yes or no and completed the USDA's 6-item U.S. Food Security Module to report food security status. We used logistic regression to assess the significance of associations after controlling for demographics.Approximately 15.4% of participants lost their job entirely, 25.7% were receiving SNAP benefits, and 16.4% were experiencing very low food security (VLFS). Change in employment (any type) was significantly associated with increased odds of VLFS after adjusting for demographics. Associations varied by SNAP status. Among SNAP participants, odds of VLFS were 2.91 times higher for those who lost their job compared to “no change” participants. Among non-participants, odds of VLFS were 4.58 times higher for those who lost their job.We observed strong associations between complete job loss and food insecurity, which underscores the pandemic's impact on nutritionally vulnerable populations. The strength of associations varied by SNAP participation status.

Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in record-high unemployment rates. Black and Latino adults experienced disproportionately higher rates of unemployment. We aimed to examine associations between pandemic-related employment status change and household food insecurity among an economically diverse sample of Black and Latino adults in Illinois during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we evaluated the significance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation to determine if it modified associations. We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 1,809 Black and Latino adults in two waves: May 2020 and June/July 2020. Participants listed their change in employment status as "lost job entirely", "employed, but paid hours reduced", "employed, but anticipate job lost", or "no change". Participants self-reported their SNAP status and completed the USDA's six item U.S. Food Security Module to report household food security status. We used logistic regression to assess the significance of associations after controlling for socio-demographics. Approximately 15.5% of participants lost their job entirely, 25.2% were SNAP participants, and 51.8% reported low food security (LFS). All changes in employment were significantly associated with increased odds of LFS after adjusting for socio-demographics. SNAP participants who lost their job had higher odds of LFS (OR: 4.69; 95% CI: 2.69-8.17) compared to non-participants who lost their job (OR: 2.97; 95%: 1.95-4.52). In summary, we observed strong associations between changes in employment and household food insecurity, particularly among SNAP participants, which underscores the pandemic's impact on low-income and minority populations.