A comparative national-level analysis of government food system resilience activities in preparation for future food system disruptions. (preprint)

Background The COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have highlighted global food system vulnerabilities and a lack of preparedness and prospective planning for increasingly complex disruptions. This has spurred an interest in food system resilience. Despite the elevated interest in food system resilience, there is a lack of comparative analyses of national-level food system resilience efforts. An improved understanding of the food system resilience landscape can support and inform future policies, programs, and planning.Methods We conducted a cross-country comparison of national-level food system resilience activities from Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Sweden, and the United States. We developed upon and adapted the resilience framework proposed by Harris and Spiegel to compare actions derived from thirteen national food system resilience documents. We coded the documents based on how the governments determined actions by food system resilience attribute utilized, part of the food supply chain, specific shocks or stressors, implementation level, the temporal focus of action, and the expected impact on food security. We analyzed and compared countries’ coded categories, subcategories, and category combinations.Results The results showed that countries are using multi-pronged policy actions to address food system resilience issues and are focused on both retrospective reviews and prospective models of disruptive events to inform their decisions. Some work has been done towards preparing for climate change and other natural disasters, but not as much for other shocks or stressors.Conclusions The analysis identified potential gaps, concentrations, and themes in national food systems resilience. The framework can be applied to augment existing policy, create new policy, as well as to supplement and complement other existing frameworks.

A Multi-Site Analysis of the Prevalence of Food Security in the United States, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic (preprint)

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected food systems including food security. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food security is important to provide support, and identify long-term impacts and needs. Objective. Our team- the National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) was formed to assess food security over different U.S. study sites throughout the pandemic, using common instruments and measurements. Here we present results from 18 study sites across 15 states and nationally over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A validated survey instrument was developed and implemented in whole or part across the sites throughout the first year of the pandemic, representing 22 separate surveys. Sampling methods for each study site were convenience, representative, or high-risk targeted. Food security was measured using the USDA six-item module. Food security prevalence was analyzed using analysis of variance by sampling method to statistically significant differences. Results. In total, more than 27,000 people responded to the surveys. We find higher prevalence of food insecurity (low or very low food security) since the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to before the pandemic. In nearly all study sites, we find higher prevalence of food insecurity among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), households with children, and those with job disruptions. We also demonstrate lingering food insecurity, with high or increased prevalence over time in sites with repeat surveys. We find no statistically significant differences between convenience and representative surveys, but statistically higher prevalence of food insecurity among high-risk compared to convenience surveys. Conclusions. This comprehensive multi-study site effort demonstrates higher prevalence of food insecurity since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in multiple survey sites continues throughout the first year of the pandemic. These impacts were prevalent for certain demographic groups, and most pronounced for surveys targeting high-risk populations.

Food insecurity during COVID-19: A multi-state research collaborative (preprint)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on the global food system, supply chain, and employment, which, in turn, has created numerous challenges to food access and food security. Early exploratory studies suggest significant increases in food insecurity in the United States. Comprehensive longitudinal research across multiple locations is needed to understand the range of impacts and responses at the household level and to improve preparedness for future events. This protocol paper outlines the formation of the National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT), a collaborative, interdisciplinary, multi-state research effort that will utilize common measurement tools, codebooks, code, data aggregation tools, and outreach materials to collectively examine and communicate the effect of COVID-19 on household food access and security. NFACT is led by an executive committee of researchers from four institutions, with additional NFACT collaborating institutions across more than a dozen states. A survey was developed by the NFACT executive team in March 2020, with additional refinements in May 2020, using both existing validated questions and new original questions, which were piloted and validated in Vermont. The project provides suggestive guidance for recruitment, and is designed to allow each study site to adopt recruitment strategies that meet their budget and needs. Primary outcomes of interest include food security status, employment status, food access challenges and concerns, dietary intake, and use of food assistance programs. Additional outcomes assess emotional eating, stigma, COVID-19 perceptions and experiences, and pro-environmental purchasing behaviors. This protocol and the establishment of NFACT provide important advancements in COVID-19 and food security research by generating harmonized data and assessing comparable outcomes across geographies and time. The collaborative, open-source approach makes research tools available to teams who might not have the resources to design their own tools, and can enable streamlined data collection, large-scale comparative analyses, and cost savings through reduced administrative tasks. The project has contributed to building new networks between and within states. Enabling facilitation and implementation of instruments in study sites has provided flexibility and meaningful opportunity for local stakeholder engagement and relevant outreach for informed public health decision-making.