How Can We Prevent Hunger During A National Emergency?

 



​Josh Petimar, ScD 

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on our health and economy, it should come as no surprise that food security is another casualty of this pandemic for many U.S. residents. More than 20% of U.S. households reported being food insecure in April 2020, which is defined as not having sufficient access to food due to a lack of resources. By comparison, in 2018 11% of U.S. households were food insecure at some point, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the ability of U.S. residents to feed themselves and their families. The numbers are even more dire for households with children aged 12 and under, 40% of which report some level of food insecurity in the wake of COVID-19. This is especially troubling because food insecurity has lasting long-term health implications for children, including higher prevalence of obesity and emotional, behavioral, and academic problems.

​Recent expansions and modifications to some government programs have brought partial relief to households experiencing food insecurity. At the federal level, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides money for food purchases to low-income households, has granted short-term emergency allotments in every state. Modifications to this and other programs, (e.g. the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC) have allowed households to use their benefits more flexibly. Federal funding has also expanded for food banks and food pantries. Individual states and cities have also implemented their own programs to tackle specific food security challenges facing their residents.
 
While these policies will provide some relief to food insecure households, the unprecedented scale of COVID-19’s economic devastation means that short-term solutions will not be enough to keep many U.S. residents from going hungry. This all leads to a big, big question: how can we make our food systems and policies more robust and more equitable?  COVID-19 may be the worst pandemic in a century, but it certainly won’t be the last crisis we face; our lackluster response to climate change all but ensures that. Thankfully, researchers have offered insights into ways we can better prepare for future food crises.
 
One important way we can prepare for future disasters is ensuring a healthy and robust food supply from an agricultural perspective. As Fanzo and colleagues excellently summarize, this means increasing access to crops and livestock that are resilient to various weather, pests, and diseases, all of which pose a threat to our food supply. It will also be important to enhance soil quality to improve yields and the nutritional quality of crops. Improvements to post-harvest storage will help ensure an adequate and safe reserve of food.
 
Ensuring adequate distribution of and access to food is also key to strengthening our food security. This means maintaining and improving the infrastructure necessary for transporting food (including highways, railways, and airports). Issues with food distribution are partially responsible for hoarding seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers’ fear and uncertainty about food availability encourages hoarding, particularly among those who can afford it. This reduces the food available  and leads to price increases, which tend to hurt low-income populations who are already at greater risk of adverse health outcomes.
 
Lastly, some have argued that further expansions of or changes to some federal programs are necessary to bolster food security during crises such as COVID-19. Dunn and colleagues list a series of measures that could aid in the current crisis, as well as prepare for future ones. These include amending policies that deter participation in food assistance programs – for example, as of February 2020, participation in SNAP can be used to deny people a path to citizenship. Such a rule only stands to worsen food security among the most vulnerable. The authors also propose codifying into law expansions of SNAP during future public health crises and offering emergency benefits to caregivers of children who receive reimbursements for food through the Child and Adult Food Care Program. These kinds of changes could make it easier for low-income households to purchase food through assistance programs, as well as reduce the lag in providing emergency benefits in the future.
 
It’s hard to think about preparing for the next national emergency while the current one is still unfolding. But if COVID-19 can offer us some lessons about how to improve food security for the future, I hope we take advantage of that opportunity.