IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i6p945-d842563.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Boon or Bane? Urban Food Security and Online Food Purchasing during the COVID-19 Epidemic in Nanjing, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yajia Liang

    (School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China)

  • Taiyang Zhong

    (School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China)

  • Jonathan Crush

    (Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 6C2, Canada
    Department of Geography, Environment and Tourism, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the rapid growth of online food purchasing and household food security during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in China using the city of Nanjing as a case study. The paper presents the results of an online survey of 968 households in Nanjing in March 2020 focused on their food purchasing behavior and levels of food security during the early weeks of the pandemic. While online food purchasing has increased rapidly in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, little research attention has been paid to the relationship between online food purchasing and household food security. This paper provides detailed insights into this relationship in China. The medium- and longer-term food security and other consequences of the pandemic pivot to online food purchasing are a fertile area for future research in China and elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • Yajia Liang & Taiyang Zhong & Jonathan Crush, 2022. "Boon or Bane? Urban Food Security and Online Food Purchasing during the COVID-19 Epidemic in Nanjing, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:945-:d:842563
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/6/945/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/6/945/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martha Chen, 2020. "COVID-19, Cities and Urban Informal Workers: India in Comparative Perspective," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 41-46, October.
    2. Lin Xiao & Bin Fu & Wenlong Liu, 2018. "Understanding consumer repurchase intention on O2O platforms: an integrated model of network externalities and trust transfer theory," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 12(4), pages 731-756, December.
    3. Thomas Hale & Noam Angrist & Rafael Goldszmidt & Beatriz Kira & Anna Petherick & Toby Phillips & Samuel Webster & Emily Cameron-Blake & Laura Hallas & Saptarshi Majumdar & Helen Tatlow, 2021. "A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 529-538, April.
    4. Cleopatra Oluseye Ibukun & Abayomi Ayinla Adebayo, 2021. "Household food security and the COVID‐19 pandemic in Nigeria," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(S1), pages 75-87, April.
    5. David Roodman, 2011. "Fitting fully observed recursive mixed-process models with cmp," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(2), pages 159-206, June.
    6. Ashfaq Ahmad Shah & Jingzhong Ye & Muhammad Abid & Raza Ullah, 2017. "Determinants of flood risk mitigation strategies at household level: a case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 88(1), pages 415-430, August.
    7. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009. "Food security: definition and measurement," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 1(1), pages 5-7, February.
    8. Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo & Mariantonietta Fiore & Antonino Galati, 2020. "How the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Online Food Shopping Human Behaviour in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    9. Brenna Ellison & Brandon McFadden & Bradley J. Rickard & Norbert L. W. Wilson, 2021. "Examining Food Purchase Behavior and Food Values During the COVID‐19 Pandemic," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 58-72, March.
    10. Resnick, Danielle, 2020. "COVID-19 lockdowns threaten Africa’s vital informal urban food trade," IFPRI book chapters, in: COVID-19 and global food security, chapter 16, pages 73-74, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Marco d’Errico & Donato Romano & Rebecca Pietrelli, 2018. "Household resilience to food insecurity: evidence from Tanzania and Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 1033-1054, August.
    12. Dominici, Andrea & Boncinelli, Fabio & Gerini, Francesca & Marone, Enrico, 2021. "Determinants of online food purchasing: The impact of socio-demographic and situational factors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Judith Hillen, 2021. "Online food prices during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(1), pages 91-107, January.
    14. Hung‐Hao Chang & Chad D. Meyerhoefer, 2021. "COVID‐19 and the Demand for Online Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 448-465, March.
    15. Brenda Cardoso & Luiza Cunha & Adriana Leiras & Paulo Gonçalves & Hugo Yoshizaki & Irineu de Brito Junior & Frederico Pedroso, 2021. "Causal Impacts of Epidemics and Pandemics on Food Supply Chains: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-28, August.
    16. Xuwen Gao & Xinjie Shi & Hongdong Guo & Yehong Liu, 2020. "To buy or not buy food online: The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the adoption of e-commerce in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, August.
    17. Jill E. Hobbs, 2020. "Food supply chains during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 68(2), pages 171-176, June.
    18. Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag & Iris Vermeir & Dacinia Crina Petrescu & Florin Laurentiu Crista & Ioan Banatean-Dunea, 2020. "Traditional Foods at the Click of a Button: The Preference for the Online Purchase of Romanian Traditional Foods during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, November.
    19. Dana AlTarrah & Entisar AlShami & Nawal AlHamad & Fatemah AlBesher & Sriraman Devarajan, 2021. "The Impact of Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Purchasing, Eating Behavior, and Perception of Food Safety in Kuwait," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    20. Jackson, Dylan B. & Johnson, Kecia R. & Vaughn, Michael G. & Hinton, Marissa E., 2019. "The role of neighborhoods in household food insufficiency: Considering interactions between physical disorder, low social capital, violence, and perceptions of danger," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 58-67.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tao Lian & Shamsheer ul Haq & Pomi Shahbaz & Lei Zhao & Muhammad Nadeem & Babar Aziz, 2022. "Changing Food Patterns during the Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Household Dynamics and Income Stabilization Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Priyanka Mitra & Yanwu Zhang & Bijon Kumer Mitra & Rajib Shaw, 2023. "Assessment of Impacts and Resilience of Online Food Services in the Post-COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-17, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Svetlana Fedoseeva & Ellen Van Droogenbroeck, 2023. "Pandemic pricing: Evidence from German grocery e‐commerce," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1139-1156, October.
    2. Sylvain Charlebois & Mark Juhasz & Janet Music, 2021. "Supply Chain Responsiveness to a (Post)-Pandemic Grocery and Food Service E-Commerce Economy: An Exploratory Canadian Case Study," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 1(2), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Minh Hieu Nguyen & Jimmy Armoogum & Binh Nguyen Thi, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Growth of E-Shopping over the COVID-19 Era in Hanoi, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Cruz-Cárdenas, Jorge & Zabelina, Ekaterina & Guadalupe-Lanas, Jorge & Palacio-Fierro, Andrés & Ramos-Galarza, Carlos, 2021. "COVID-19, consumer behavior, technology, and society: A literature review and bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    5. Szász, Levente & Bálint, Csaba & Csíki, Ottó & Nagy, Bálint Zsolt & Rácz, Béla-Gergely & Csala, Dénes & Harris, Lloyd C., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on the evolution of online retail: The pandemic as a window of opportunity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    6. Jee-Won Kang & Young Namkung, 2022. "Measuring the Service Quality of Fresh Food Delivery Platforms: Development and Validation of the “Food PlatQual” Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Simone Braun & Dunia Osman, 2024. "Online grocery shopping adoption versus non-adoption among the over-50s in Germany," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 825-862, June.
    8. Guo, Jianxin & Jin, Songqing & Zhao, Jichun & Wang, Hongbiao & Zhao, Fang, 2022. "Has COVID-19 accelerated the E-commerce of agricultural products? Evidence from sales data of E-stores in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    9. Ellen Van Droogenbroeck & Léon Van Hove, 2021. "Adoption and usage of E-grocery shopping: A context-specific UTAUT2 model," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/324918, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Clement O. Codjia & Sayed H. Saghaian, 2022. "Determinants of Food Expenditure Patterns: Evidence from U.S. Consumers in the Context of the COVID-19 Price Shocks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Ellen Van Droogenbroeck & Leo Van Hove, 2021. "Adoption and Usage of E-Grocery Shopping: A Context-Specific UTAUT2 Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-27, April.
    12. Mostafa Ghodsi & Ali Ardestani & Arash Rasaizadi & Seyednaser Ghadamgahi & Hao Yang, 2021. "How COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Urban Trips? Structural Interpretive Model of Online Shopping and Passengers Trips during the Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, October.
    13. Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Fiore, Mariantonietta & Galati, Antonino, 2022. "Measuring consumers’ level of satisfaction for online food shopping during COVID-19 in Italy using POSETs," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    14. Manyong, Victor & Bokanga, Mpoko & Akonkwa Nyamuhirwa, Dieu-Merci & Bamba, Zoumana & Adeoti, Razack & Mwepu, Gregoire & Cole, Steven M. & Dontsop Nguezet, Paul Martin, 2022. "COVID-19 outbreak and rural household food security in the Western Democratic Republic of the Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    15. Meuwissen, Miranda & Feindt, Peter & Slijper, Thomas & Spiegel, Alisa & Finger, Robert & de Mey, Yann & Paas, Wim & Termeer, Katrien & Poortvliet, P. Marijn & Peneva, Mariya & Urquhart, Julie & Vigani, 2021. "Impact of Covid-19 on farming systems in Europe through the lens of resilience thinking," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 191.
    16. Huidan Xue & Yujia Zhai & Wen-Hao Su & Ziling He, 2023. "Governance and Actions for Resilient Urban Food Systems in the Era of COVID-19: Lessons and Challenges in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Ouoba, Youmanli & Sawadogo, Natéwindé, 2022. "Food security, poverty and household resilience to COVID-19 in Burkina Faso: Evidence from urban small traders’ households," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    18. Ann‐Christin ZUNTZ & Mackenzie KLEMA & Shaher ABDULLATEEF & Stella MAZERI & Salim Faisal ALNABOLSI & Abdulellah ALFADEL & Joy ABI‐HABIB & Maria AZAR & Clara CALIA & Joseph BURKE & Liz GRANT & Lisa BOD, 2022. "Syrian refugee labour and food insecurity in Middle Eastern agriculture during the early COVID‐19 pandemic," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 161(2), pages 245-266, June.
    19. Zhang, Dianfeng & Shen, Zifan & Li, Yanlai, 2023. "Requirement analysis and service optimization of multiple category fresh products in online retailing using importance-Kano analysis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    20. Amicarelli, Vera & Lagioia, Giovanni & Sampietro, Stefania & Bux, Christian, 2022. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed food waste perception and behavior? Evidence from Italian consumers," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:945-:d:842563. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.