Has COVID-19 increased food insecurity in the US?
By EconoFact
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YES
Food insecurity is when people or households do not have consistent, dependable access to enough food to live an active, healthy lifestyle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one estimate is that food insecurity affected 68 million Americans (one-fifth of the US population). In contrast, the number of people facing food insecurity in 2019 is estimated to have been 35.2 million, representing 11% of the U.S. population. In 2019 11.8 million of those 35.2 million people (4% of the population) had “very low food security,” defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to mean one or more household members experienced reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at times because of limited resources.
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Sources
US Department of Agriculture Definitions of Food Security
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