Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in record-high unemployment rates. Black and Latino adults experienced disproportionately higher rates of unemployment. We aimed to examine associations between pandemic-related employment status change and household food insecurity among an economically d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1581 |
| _version_ | 1797434279601373184 |
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| author | Chelsea R. Singleton Olufemi Fabusoro Margarita Teran-Garcia Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo |
| author_facet | Chelsea R. Singleton Olufemi Fabusoro Margarita Teran-Garcia Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo |
| author_sort | Chelsea R. Singleton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in record-high unemployment rates. Black and Latino adults experienced disproportionately higher rates of unemployment. We aimed to examine associations between pandemic-related employment status change and household food insecurity among an economically diverse sample of Black and Latino adults in Illinois during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we evaluated the significance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation to determine if it modified associations. We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 1,809 Black and Latino adults in two waves: May 2020 and June/July 2020. Participants listed their change in employment status as “lost job entirely”, “employed, but paid hours reduced”, “employed, but anticipate job lost”, or “no change”. Participants self-reported their SNAP status and completed the USDA’s six item U.S. Food Security Module to report household food security status. We used logistic regression to assess the significance of associations after controlling for socio-demographics. Approximately 15.5% of participants lost their job entirely, 25.2% were SNAP participants, and 51.8% reported low food security (LFS). All changes in employment were significantly associated with increased odds of LFS after adjusting for socio-demographics. SNAP participants who lost their job had higher odds of LFS (OR: 4.69; 95% CI: 2.69–8.17) compared to non-participants who lost their job (OR: 2.97; 95%: 1.95–4.52). In summary, we observed strong associations between changes in employment and household food insecurity, particularly among SNAP participants, which underscores the pandemic’s impact on low-income and minority populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:30:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ffce73539494e90b0c6cb0c21520cc8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:30:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ffce73539494e90b0c6cb0c21520cc82023-12-01T21:17:21ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-04-01148158110.3390/nu14081581Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in IllinoisChelsea R. Singleton0Olufemi Fabusoro1Margarita Teran-Garcia2Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo3Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USADivision of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USADivision of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USADivision of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USAThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in record-high unemployment rates. Black and Latino adults experienced disproportionately higher rates of unemployment. We aimed to examine associations between pandemic-related employment status change and household food insecurity among an economically diverse sample of Black and Latino adults in Illinois during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we evaluated the significance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation to determine if it modified associations. We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 1,809 Black and Latino adults in two waves: May 2020 and June/July 2020. Participants listed their change in employment status as “lost job entirely”, “employed, but paid hours reduced”, “employed, but anticipate job lost”, or “no change”. Participants self-reported their SNAP status and completed the USDA’s six item U.S. Food Security Module to report household food security status. We used logistic regression to assess the significance of associations after controlling for socio-demographics. Approximately 15.5% of participants lost their job entirely, 25.2% were SNAP participants, and 51.8% reported low food security (LFS). All changes in employment were significantly associated with increased odds of LFS after adjusting for socio-demographics. SNAP participants who lost their job had higher odds of LFS (OR: 4.69; 95% CI: 2.69–8.17) compared to non-participants who lost their job (OR: 2.97; 95%: 1.95–4.52). In summary, we observed strong associations between changes in employment and household food insecurity, particularly among SNAP participants, which underscores the pandemic’s impact on low-income and minority populations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1581food securityunemploymentCOVID-19SNAPdisparitiesIllinois |
| spellingShingle | Chelsea R. Singleton Olufemi Fabusoro Margarita Teran-Garcia Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois Nutrients food security unemployment COVID-19 SNAP disparities Illinois |
| title | Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois |
| title_full | Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois |
| title_fullStr | Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois |
| title_full_unstemmed | Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois |
| title_short | Change in Employment Status Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, SNAP Participation, and Household Food Insecurity among Black and Latino Adults in Illinois |
| title_sort | change in employment status due to the covid 19 pandemic snap participation and household food insecurity among black and latino adults in illinois |
| topic | food security unemployment COVID-19 SNAP disparities Illinois |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1581 |
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