Identifying characteristics of first-time use of charitable community food resources during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

While national trends in food insecurity prevalence were unchanged in the early COVID-19 pandemic, evidence suggests that millions of people sought food assistance from charitable community sources for the first time during this period. Understanding the characteristics of first-time users of charitable community food resources may inform future emergency food system responses. This study aimed to identify sociodemographic, household, and food access–related factors associated with first-time use of charitable community food resources among low-wage workers in 2020. We conducted a secondary analysis of 2020 data from the Wage$ Study, a cohort of low-wage workers in Raleigh, North Carolina (NC), and Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN). Participants (N = 565) reported their sociodemographic characteristics, experiences of personal and household hardships, food access disruptions, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and use of charitable community food resources (defined as food pan­tries and soup kitchens) during stay-at-home orders from March 2020 to June 2020. To examine multi­level factors associated with first-time use of chari­table community food resources, we used descrip­tive statistics, classification tree analysis, and logistic regression. The prevalence of first-time use of charitable community food resources was 29.0%. Classification tree analysis identified older age, race/ethnicity, receipt of church assistance, and encountering out-of-stock foods at one’s local grocery store as key factors associated with first-time use. Logistic regression revealed that SNAP participants had higher odds of first-time commu­nity resource use compared with nonparticipants. Charitable food programs were important for low-wage workers experiencing barriers to food access during the early pandemic. Strengthening both charitable food systems and federal nutrition pro­grams may improve emergency food access during future crises.