Food insecurity among households with children during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Understanding impacts of the COVID-19 pan-demic among households with children is neces-sary to design appropriate public health responses that protect food and nutrition security. The objec-tive of this research was to understand predictors of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic among households with at least one child (<18years), including whether foods reported as out-of -stock were associated with the likelihood of food insecurity. An online survey using validated measures and open-ended questions was distrib-uted to a convenience sample in five states- Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, and West Virginia-during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (April through September of 2020). Predictors of food insecurity (race/ethnicity, age, marital status, education, federal nutrition assistance program participation, number of adults and children in the household, rurality, and missing foods when shopping) among households with children during the COVID-19 pandemic were modeled using logistic regression (p < 0.05, a priori). To further illuminate household experiences during this time, two researchers independently coded open-ended survey question data using inductive and deductive approaches to construct themes. Households with children had increased odds of experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic if they had the following characteristics: Hispanic ethnicity; age between 25 and 44 years; additional adult household members; economic hardship; SNAP/WIC participation; being widowed, divorced, or separated; and report-ing foods not available when shopping. Partici-pants described mainly negative changes to dietary patterns and practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also described food security chal-lenges and ideas for improving food security. Con-sistent with other data collected and analyzed dur-ing the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study contributes findings that emphasize the need for enhanced public health responses and emer-gency preparedness measures that protect food and nutrition security. Because of the increased short -and long-term consequences including exposure to adverse circumstances, impaired learning, risks to mental health, and poor health outcomes, ensuring an adequate food supply is especially important for households with children.