Racial Disparity and Trend of Food Scarcity Amid COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Abstract

An increase in households with food insecurity has been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the trend of food insecurity during the pandemic remains unclear. Using Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data over 34 weeks from June 2020 to September 2021 (nationally representative samples of US adults in the households from the US Census Bureau), we examined racial disparity and trends of food scarcity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The time series plots illustrated that the food scarcity rate was incremental until December 2020 and began improving thereafter across all racial groups. Such improvements in food scarcity were accompanied by the rise in regular income rates while the use of food assistance programs, unemployment insurance, and stimulus payments remained unchanged or reduced. As the US economy recovered, the gaps in food scarcity rates also narrowed between Black/Hispanic and White households.