key: cord-0884376-3xs8wfy3
authors: nan
title: Food Banks and Food Pantries Provide Protection for Racial and Ethnic Minorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic
date: 2021-07-19
journal: Health Soc Work
DOI: 10.1093/hsw/hlab015
sha: 6497eb18165abe2925d29f6989dd2b95560a6d25
doc_id: 884376
cord_uid: 3xs8wfy3

nan

A mid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have experienced food insecurity. Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program soared to 43 million people in April 2020 (Tiehen, 2020) . Across the United States, people waited hours to receive food assistance from food banks and food pantries. Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionally affected by food insecurity, with nearly 40 percent of Black and Hispanic families suffering from food hardship during the pandemic and their families with children nearly twice as likely as White families to be struggling to afford food (Harvard University School of Public Health, 2020; Schanzenbach & Pitts, 2020) .

Food banks and pantries are locally based and directly involved in food storage, food distribution, and meals preparation. Given its role in providing emergency food assistance, how does communitybased food assistance respond to increasing demand during the pandemic? To what extent does community food assistance help Americans in meeting their food needs and reduce disparities in food security?

We applied pooled cross-sectional analysis using the Household Pulse Survey Phase 1 (12 weeks, April 23, 2020, to July 21, 2020) and Phase 2 (five weeks, August 19, 2020, to October 26, 2020) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau (2020). Results showed that nearly 10 percent of Americans reported receiving free groceries or meals in the past seven days during this period. Whereas Black households are more likely than White households to receive food assistance from food banks and pantries (odds ratio [OR] ¼ 1.53, p < .001) (see Table 1 ), their risk of experiencing food insecurity is higher (OR ¼ 2.2, p < .001), indicating their unmet food needs even with community nutrition assistance support. A similar pattern is also found in Hispanic households, with the OR of food insecurity at 1.49 (p < .001) and that of food assistance by food banks and pantries at 1.14 (p < .05). Greater protection from community food assistance is provided for Black (OR ¼ 1.67, p < .001) and Hispanic (OR ¼ 1.23, p < .05) households This analysis was conducted using the pooled sample of households whose food security status has worsened since the pandemic. *p < .05. ***p < .001.

doi: 10.1093/hsw/hlab015 V C 2021 National Association of Social Workers whose food security status has worsened since the pandemic. The pandemic has exacerbated racial disparities in health, as evidenced by COVID-19 infection and death rates (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020) . Community food assistance, mainly provided by food banks and food pantries, is unique in combating disparities by providing greater protection for African Americans and Hispanics. Given their extensive network, proximate location, open eligibility, convenient access, and flexible provisions, food banks and food pantries can play a larger role in addressing food and nutritional needs in the community. Community food assistance facilities, such as food banks and food pantries, have great potential to become community health care partners in promoting health and addressing health disparities. HSW Baorong Guo, PhD School of Social Work University of Missouri-St. Louis Jin Huang, PhD, Saint Louis University

COVID-19 hospitalization and death by race/ethnicity

Nearly four in 10 Black, Hispanic families facing food insecurity during pandemic

Food insecurity in the Census Household Pulse Survey data tables

Taking a closer look at Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and expenditures

Household Pulse Survey: Measuring social and economic impacts during the coronavirus pandemic