Food Insecurity in Two Neighboring Cities During the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Responses of Local Food Pantries in Newton, MA and Waltham, MA
Creators: name: Shuman, Simona
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Food Insecurity
Food Pantries
Food Network
Food Pantry System
Covid-19 Pandemic
Poverty and the Poor

description: In the United States, there are many different ways to purchase food, whether it be online or in person, at grocery stores, markets, or restaurants. However, there are serious disparities in who is able to purchase this food, if they have enough, and if it is of the same quality. This discrepancy is called food insecurity and this is a global problem, as many families and individuals often do not have equal access to healthy and nutritious food (Nord and Andrews, 2002). The United States (USDA) has a survey that the US Census Bureau conducts every year, and there are three main indicators that show if a household/individual is food insecure. These are if in the past 1) they worried if their food would run out before they get more money to buy more 2) the food they bought did not last, and they did not have money to get more, and 3) they could not afford to eat a balanced meal (Nord and Andrews, 2002). Food insecurity is not a new concept and in recent years there was a decline in how many US households/individuals are food insecure. An example of this is that in the year 2019, over 10.5% of households in the US were either food-insecure or with very low food security (Silva, 2020). While these statistics in comparison to those from 2018, indicate a downward trend from 11.1% to 10.5%, the Covid-19 pandemic is predicted to have altered this trend significantly with food insecurity being doubled overall (Schanzenbach and Pitts, 2021).  With the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, stay-at-home orders altered the way in which food is both distributed and consumed. According to the US Labor of Statistics, “demand from grocery stores rose as consumers, unaware of how long they would be quarantined at home, increased purchases of food” (Mead et al., 2020). This type of “consumer-driven demand” created difficulties for supermarkets, plants, and other parts of the supply chain to meet consumer needs. Just as larger corporations were impacted by this pressure, smaller organizations who provide subsistence to those who face food insecurity, confronted similar issues too. Food banks not only faced food shortages due to the ongoing issues with the supply-and demand chain, but also additional problems due to safety and financial concerns (Billings et al., 2020). During the height of the pandemic, many food banks no longer had larger corporations sending food donations and money, due to these companies facing their own financial strains and issues.  These financial stresses also played an important role on the people who use food banks/pantries. Many feeding organizations then were forced to shut down operations in order to keep both volunteers and the communities they serve, safe. Now that vaccines have been administered and food banks/pantries are re-opening, it is important to see how the food landscape for food pantries has changed and/or remained the same. In this project I will explore the experiences of people connected to the food-pantry system to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on food-insecurity. These questions are significant for the populations that the food banks serve and those who are food-insecure globally. Those who face the most food insecurity are not choosing to live without food security, rather they are impacted by the social determinants of health, which keep them in a societal structure which does not allow for advancement or fair treatment within society. Examples of  structural issues include racism, health inequities, and education. &lt;br&gt;