The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) is a collaboration of researchers at 19 sites across 16 states exploring the impact of COVID-19 on food access, food security and food systems. 

We are proud to welcome a new site to the NFACT Team - Texas!  We welcome Dr. Alexandra van den Berg and Dr. Kathryn Janda from UTHealth School of Public Health.

New Policy Briefs and Publications

Connecticut 

A new report from the Connecticut team, Poor Mental Health as a Consequence and Driver of Food Insecurity, illustrates a deep connection between mental health and food access. The results of a spring 2021 survey of more than 1,000 adults showed that symptoms of anxiety and depression were associated with higher rates of food insecurity and heightened use of food assistance programs, yet individuals who reported symptoms of anxiety or depression were less likely to seek assistance when they were experiencing food insecurity. 

In another brief from the survey, Creating a Dignified & Welcoming Environment in Food Pantries, the team summarized challenges and barriers respondents had to getting enough food a year after the pandemic started and show that respondents have many concerns about using food pantries.

Massachusetts

A collaborative team of NFACT researchers analyzed data from 353 Massachusetts households with young children to quantify diaper need during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine factors associated with diaper need. In a new publication in Health Equity, Diaper Need during the COVID-19 Pandemic Associated with Poverty, Food Insecurity, and Chronic Illness: An Analysis of a Representative State Sample of Caretakers with Young Children, they found that 36% of respondents reported diaper need and that diaper need was higher among respondents who used a food assistance program or food pantry during the pandemic.

National

A team of researchers from Arizona, Maryland, and Vermont used national data to examine participation in SNAP, WIC, and school meal programs among 470 households with children before and during the pandemic. Their work was published in Nutrients, Patterns of Food Assistance Program Participation, Food Insecurity, and Pantry Use among U.S. Households with Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The study showed declines in SNAP participation, while WIC participation increased slightly and participation in school meals remained unchanged. They also demonstrate significant differences in programs use by race/ethnicity, income, and urbanicity.

Texas

The Texas team has two new publications to share as we welcome them to the NFACT Team.

In Correlates of Transitions in Food Insecurity Status during the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Ethnically Diverse Households in Central Texas, published in Nutrients, they identified socio-demographic and food access factors associated with continuing or transitioning into food insecurity among 367 households in low-income communities. They found that socio-demographic and food access-related factors associated with staying or becoming newly food insecure were similar but not identical.

In Change in Depression and Its Determinants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Examination among Racially/Ethnically Diverse US Adults, published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the team used longitudinal data to identify changes in the occurrence of depressive symptoms during the pandemic in a diverse sample. Of the 290 respondents, 13.5% were categorized as having consistent depressive symptoms or decline over time.

Vermont

The Vermont team recently published a new manuscript in Nutrients, Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Evidence from a Cohort of Adults in Vermont during the First Year. The study assessed changes in household food insecurity throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic among a group of 441 Vermonters and found that nearly a third of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point during the first year. Their work also showed that food insecurity prevalence remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic.

Researcher Spotlight

What is your current position and general research focus? What is your role with NFACT research?

Currently, I am a postdoctoral research associate within the Department of Emergency Health Services at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. I have been working with data from the NFACT surveys in NY since May 2020, and have since then expanded to include work with VT, AZ, CT, NM, MA and MD datasets. My primary project with the NFACT state data focuses on the development and validation of a disaster-specific scale for measuring food insecurity by using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. The NFACT collaborative members and myself are working on identifying non-financial barriers to food security that became more prominent during the pandemic. So far, we have generated food security dimensions related to 1) availability issues as represented by supply chain and food assistance disruptions, 2) physical accessibility barriers due to lock down orders, stay-at-home orders, business closures and social distancing mandates, etc. 3) uncertainty and fear associated with the quantity, quality and safety of foods in pandemic times and 4) utilization of food available through ability to cook and kitchen supplies (equipment and ingredients).

What has been most surprising about your NFACT research?

I was very surprised by the percentage of respondents that experienced food insecurity during the pandemic. I was even more taken aback by how many households reported having been food insecure prior to the pandemic, but were drastically food insecure during the pandemic. While I expect high proportions of households to transition from food secure to food insecure during natural calamities such as tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and other such disasters, I was not expecting it to be this significant during a public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic. This realization really highlighted the importance to not only address food insecurity during disasters and public health emergencies, but also to monitor food security consistently as natural and man-made hazards become increasingly common. So a disaster-specific food insecurity scale will allow not only to improve the accuracy of food security prevalence, but also will provide additional non-financial intervention options to improve household resilience to food insecurity during these emergencies. 

How has your work with NFACT influenced your future work?

Working in food security has always been a passion of mine. I also worked on food security in developing countries during my doctoral training. Now, working with the NFACT collaborative, I am developing new data management skills, learning new statistical approaches and performing in-depth qualitative interviews. I have also had exposure to different stakeholders in the food security arena, whose knowledge have been instrumental in developing my own expertise in food security across contexts and settings. My career goals include being actively involved in food security research, developing food interventions and effective food policies.  

Please share a fun fact!

I speak 7 languages and I am currently learning an eighth!

Have an update or idea for the newsletter?

Want to suggest a student or researcher to highlight?

Contact Ashley: ashley.mccarthy@uvm.edu

Want to contact NFACT or get involved?

Contact Meredith: mtniles@uvm.edu