IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i22p15433-d978612.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food Insufficiency among Job-Loss Households during the Pandemic: The Role of Food Assistance Programs

Author

Listed:
  • Yingru Li

    (Department of Sociology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

  • Dapeng Li

    (Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA)

  • Christian King

    (School of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA)

Abstract

During the early stages of the pandemic, many households experienced a loss of employment income, which worsened food insecurity and food insufficiency across the United States. This study aimed to examine whether food assistance programs (FAPs) significantly alleviated food insufficiency (FI) among job-loss households during the pandemic. The analysis was conducted with nationally representative survey data ( n = 229,668 ) collected across 50 states and D.C. in 2020. Spatial analysis and logistic regression were applied to analyze the patterns of FI and to assess the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), FAPs for children, and community FAPs. Approximately 18.6% of participants faced FI, 41% of whom experienced FI for the first time. SNAP significantly lowered the odds of being food insufficient by 24.5% among households who were already food insufficient before the pandemic and by 11.9% for households with children. FAPs for children slightly reduced FI among households with children, but those who participated in these programs still had higher prevalence of food insufficiency than those who did not. Community FAPs were not effective. The findings suggest increasing the benefit level of SNAP for households with lowest income, strengthening their partnership with community FAPs, and distributing more emergent assistance to the most vulnerable households.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingru Li & Dapeng Li & Christian King, 2022. "Food Insufficiency among Job-Loss Households during the Pandemic: The Role of Food Assistance Programs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:15433-:d:978612
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15433/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15433/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ralston, Katherine & Treen, Katie & Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Guthrie, Joanne, 2017. "Children’s Food Security and USDA Child Nutrition Programs," Economic Information Bulletin 259730, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Gundersen, Craig & Waxman, Elaine & Crumbaugh, Amy S., 2019. "An Examination of the Adequacy of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefit Levels: Impacts on Food Insecurity," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(3), pages 433-447, December.
    3. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew & Gregory, Christian, 2022. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Administr), September.
    4. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider & John V. Pepper, 2017. "Partial Identification Methods for Evaluating Food Assistance Programs: A Case Study of the Causal Impact of SNAP on Food Insecurity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(4), pages 875-893.
    5. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew & Gregory, Christian & Singh, Anita, 2022. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Administr), September.
    6. Helen H. Jensen, 2002. "Food Insecurity and the Food Stamp Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1215-1228.
    7. Zhang, Jun & Yen, Steven T., 2017. "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and food insecurity among families with children," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 52-64.
    8. McKernan, Signe-Mary & Ratcliffe, Caroline & Braga, Breno, 2021. "The effect of the US safety net on material hardship over two decades," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    9. Craig Gundersen & Victor Oliveira, 2001. "The Food Stamp Program and Food Insufficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 875-887.
    10. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2017. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2016," Economic Research Report 291968, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Di Fang & Michael R. Thomsen & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Wei Yang, 2022. "Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a survey of low-income Americans," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 165-183, February.
    12. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2017. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2016," Administrative Publications 292099, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Sonya Kostova Huffman & Helen H. Jensen, 2008. "Food Assistance Programs and Outcomes in the Context of Welfare Reform," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 89(1), pages 95-115, March.
    14. Gundersen, Craig, 2021. "Viewpoint: A proposal to reconstruct the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a universal basic income program for food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    15. Huang, Jin & Barnidge, Ellen, 2016. "Low-income Children's participation in the National School Lunch Program and household food insufficiency," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 8-14.
    16. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2016. "Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2015," Administrative Publications 292103, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    17. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2019. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2018," Economic Research Report 301167, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    18. Steven T. Yen & Margaret Andrews & Zhuo Chen & David B. Eastwood, 2008. "Food Stamp Program Participation and Food Insecurity: An Instrumental Variables Approach," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(1), pages 117-132.
    19. Christopher M. Bacon & Gregory A. Baker, 2017. "The rise of food banks and the challenge of matching food assistance with potential need: towards a spatially specific, rapid assessment approach," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(4), pages 899-919, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jun Zhang & Yanghao Wang & Steven T. Yen, 2021. "Does Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity among Households with Children? Evidence from the Current Population Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Helen H. Jensen & Brent Kreider & Oleksandr Zhylyevskyy, 2019. "Investigating Treatment Effects of Participating Jointly in SNAP and WIC when the Treatment Is Validated Only for SNAP," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 124-155, July.
    3. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew & Gregory, Christian & Singh, Anita, 2022. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Economic ), September.
    4. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew & Gregory, Christian & Singh, Anita, 2022. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2021," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Economic ), September.
    5. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2020. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2019," Economic Research Report 327207, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Wilson, Norbert L. W. & Zheng, Yuqing & Burney, Shaheer & Kaiser, Harry M., 2016. "Do Grocery Food Sales Taxes Cause Food Insecurity?," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235324, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Anthony G. Murray & Bradford F. Mills, 2014. "The Impact Of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation On Household Energy Insecurity," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(4), pages 811-825, October.
    8. Zhang, Jun & Yen, Steven T., 2017. "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and food insecurity among families with children," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 52-64.
    9. Zheng, Yuqing & (Jason) Zhao, Jianqiang & Buck, Steven & Burney, Shaheer & Kaiser, Harry M. & Wilson, Norbert L., 2021. "Putting grocery food taxes on the table: Evidence for food security policy-makers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    10. Ranney, Christine K. & Gomez, Miguel I., 2010. "Food Stamps, Food Insufficiency and Health of the Elderly," Working Papers 126968, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    11. Swann, Christopher A., 2017. "Household history, SNAP participation, and food insecurity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-9.
    12. Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Reed-Jones, Madeline & Hales, Laura J. & Burke, Michael P., 2024. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2023," Economic Research Report 344963, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Davis, David & Huang, Rui, 2013. "The Effect of SNAP Benefits for Food Insecurity," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149827, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Deb, Partha & Gregory, Christian A., 2018. "Heterogeneous impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on food insecurity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 55-60.
    15. Dharmasena, Senarath & Bessler, David A. & Capps, Oral, 2016. "Food environment in the United States as a complex economic system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 163-175.
    16. Wang, Julia Shu-Huah & Zhao, Xi & Nam, Jaehyun, 2021. "The effects of welfare participation on parenting stress and parental engagement using an instrumental variables approach: Evidence from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    17. Weerasooriya, Senal A. & Reimer, Jeffrey J., 2016. "Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Rural and Urban Areas in Oregon," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235751, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. repec:mpr:mprres:8084 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Xu, Licheng, 2020. "Timing of SNAP disbursement and crime rate in the United States," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304248, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Irma Arteaga & Colleen Heflin & Leslie Hodges, 2018. "SNAP Benefits and Pregnancy-Related Emergency Room Visits," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 1031-1052, December.
    21. Bonanno, Alessandro & Ghosh, Gaurav S., 2010. "SNAP Efficacy and Food Access – A Nationwide Spatial Analysis," 115th Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, September 15-17, 2010, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany 116437, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

    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:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:15433-:d:978612. 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.