Food Accessibility and Movement Control Order: Analyzing Impact of First Lockdown on Access to Food

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The emergence of the coronavirus has highlighted the weaknesses of the global economy, especially in terms of food supply and demand. While various research has been established on the disruption of the COVID-19 to the food supply chain, little is known on the extent of the food supply issues in Malaysia and what it means for our future. As such, this research focuses on addressing these questions does COVID-19 affect food supply? Who’s at risk of food supply disruption? And what are the long-term impacts? Methods: This cross-sectional study carried out online data collection utilising the snowball sampling method. 3 months of data collection yielded data from 666 respondents. Chi-square analysis was carried out to determine the association between food accessibility before and after the first MCO . Results: Most of the respondents are below 35 years of age, with only 20% reported food supply disruption. 12% reported food shortage during the initial MCO which was significantly associated with gender, level of education and income. A significant difference between food accessibility before and during the initial MCO was also found. Conclusion: Data indicates that food access disruption was brief, due to initial confusion with travel restrictions and panic buying. While the initial MCO did cause a food accessibility issue, the paper revealed instead the potential food security issue that exists regardless of the pandemic. Access to food is a human right and this paper highlights the possibility of exploring an independent food system to address existing problems. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.