COVID-19 Cases are Associated with Food Insufficiency in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research examined the association between COVID-19 cases and food insufficiency in the United States using repeated cross-sectional data from the Household Pulse Survey (April 23, 2020-May 24, 2021, n = 2,618,027). New daily cases averaged 65,160.93 throughout the study period. A 70,000-unit increase in COVID-19 cases was associated with a 13% higher odds of food insufficiency (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.12-1.15). Participants with mild (OR = 2.72, 95% CI: 2.61-2.84), moderate (OR = 4.58, 95% CI: 4.36-4.81), or severe (OR = 8.75, 95% CI: 8.42-9.09) anxiety/depression and Black participants (OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 2.29-2.44) had the highest odds of reporting food insufficiency during the pandemic.Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.