Abstract
Charitable food services, including food banks and pantries, support individual and households' food access, potentially maintaining food security and diet quality during emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of food banks and pantries has increased in the US. Here we examine perceptions of food banks and food pantries and their relationship to food security and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a statewide representative survey (n = 600) of residents of Vermont. The utilization of food pantries was more common among food insecure households and households with children. Among food insecure respondents, those who did not use a food pantry were significantly more likely to report consuming less FV during the pandemic. Further, we find respondents who are food insecure and using a food pantry report consuming more FV since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that respondents who were both food insecure and reported not using a food pantry were significantly more likely to report both a reduction in fruit consumption (b = −0.58; p = 0.001) and a reduction in vegetable consumption (b = −0.415; p = 0.012). These results indicate that these services may support food access and one important dimension of diet quality (FV intake) for at-risk populations during emergencies.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic, associated shutdowns, and social distancing measures designed to slow its spread have profoundly impacted the US food system and food access
We found that respondents who are food insecure and using a food pantry report consuming more fruit and vegetable (FV) since the onset of the pandemic
Our results suggest that the food bank/food pantry system may play a role in blunting the adverse effects of a humanitarian crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing food access for low-income households and thereby mitigating reductions in their overall FV intake
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic, associated shutdowns, and social distancing measures designed to slow its spread have profoundly impacted the US food system and food access. According to the Pew Research Center, job disruptions have been widespread; lower-income adults have been hardest hit, with half of their households reporting a job or wage loss due to the pandemic [1] These disruptions have been disproportionately acute among women, low-income communities, and people of color [1], which have catalyzed important changes in the food supply chain and food security. Demands for charitable food services are reported to have increased from 50 to 140% in the first months of the COVID19 pandemic [7, 8]. A longitudinal population-level survey conducted in Vermont in March and May 2020 found that demand for charitable food services increased by 68%, from 7.1 to 12.0% [10]. In October 2020, Feeding America reported they were on track to distribute 50% more food when comparing October 2019 and October 2020 [11]
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