Urban Youth Perspectives on Food Insecurity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the COACHES Study.

Christine St Pierre,Jamison Merrill,Jennifer M Sacheck,Win Guan

doi:10.3390/nu14030455

Christine St Pierre, Jamison Merrill + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14030455

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: Jan 20, 2022
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Milken Institute, George Washington University

Abstract

School disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic were a likely threat to food security and exacerbated risk factors associated with poor nutrition and health outcomes among low-income youth. As part of an ongoing school-based study aimed at improving physical activity and dietary behaviors (the COACHES study), associations between youth-reported food insecurity and dietary intake across the pandemic-affected academic year of 2020–2021 were examined. Middle school students (6th and 7th grade, 94% Black/African-American, 92% free-/reduced-price lunch eligible) answered validated surveys on food insecurity and diet and were measured for height and weight for calculation of weight status during Fall 2020 (n = 88) and Spring 2021 (n = 56). During this time, schools underwent a combination of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning. Nearly half of participants were overweight or obese (47%), and self-reported food insecurity was near 30% at both time points. Less than one-third of youth met fruit and vegetable intake guidelines, and more than half drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages daily. While controlling for sex, maternal education, and weight status, food insecurity was not significantly associated with fruit and vegetable or sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Independent of weight status, youth were aware of being food insecure, yet it did not have an apparent impact on these food groups of concern. These findings highlight the need for greater understanding of youth perceptions of food insecurity in order to adequately address dietary quality and quantity concerns among children.

Highlights

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food access for those students who depend on free or subsidized school meals as a major part of their food intake, increasing their risk of experiencing food insecurity
The study was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which interfered with the ability to fully implement the intervention
Of particular interest for the analysis presented here were questions related to food insecurity, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB), and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake

Summary

Introduction

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food access for those students who depend on free or subsidized school meals as a major part of their food intake, increasing their risk of experiencing food insecurity. The USDA’s annual food security assessment indicated that nearly 15% of households with children experienced food insecurity, defined as lack of access to enough food for an active, healthy life, at some point in 2020 [1]. This was an increase over 2019 and a reversal of the declining trend observed over the previous decade [1]. Data on youth food security status, are typically reported by their caregivers or an adult household representative. The limited research comparing caregiverand child-reported food insecurity in the same household has indicated that children may perceive themselves as food insecure, even when their caregivers do not [5,6]

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