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

ABSTRACT

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.