SNAP Participants and High Levels of Food Insecurity in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately strained households experiencing poverty, particularly Black and Latino households. Food insecurity, which entails having limited or uncertain access to a sufficient quantity of nutritious food, is a key pandemic-related consequence. We examined how people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been affected by the pandemic, particularly Black participants and participants residing in food deserts. Methods: Using survey data from a longitudinal cohort study of predominantly Black low-income adults aged ≥18 residing in urban food deserts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we examined changes in food insecurity and SNAP participation before COVID-19 (2018) and early in the COVID-19 pandemic (March–May 2020). We modeled changes in food insecurity from 2018 to 2020 via covariate-adjusted logistic regression. Results: Food insecurity increased significantly among participants enrolled in SNAP and surveyed in both 2018 and 2020 (from 25.9% in 2018 to 46.9% in 2020; P