Food Insecurity, the Home Food Environment, and Parent Feeding Practices in the Era of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to describe changes in families' home food environment and parent feeding practices, from before to during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and examine whether changes differed by food security status.

Methods: Parents (N = 584) in the US completed a single online survey, reporting on food security, home food availability, and feeding practices both retrospectively (considering before COVID-19) and currently (during COVID-19). χ² and univariate regressions examined associations by food security status.

Results: The percent of families reporting very low food security increased by 20% from before to during COVID-19 (P < 0.01). About one-third of families increased the amount of high-calorie snack foods, desserts/sweets, and fresh foods in their home; 47% increased nonperishable processed foods. Concern about child overweight increased during COVID-19, with a greater increase for food-insecure versus food-secure parents (P < 0.01). Use of restriction, pressure to eat, and monitoring increased, with a greater increase in pressure to eat for parents with food insecurity compared with food-secure parents (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: During COVID-19, increases in very low food security and changes in the home food environment and parent feeding practices were observed. Results highlight the need to address negative impacts of COVID-19 on children's obesity risk, particularly among those facing health disparities.

Figure 1

Distribution in the percentage of food‐secure and food‐insecure families differed from before the COVID‐19 pandemic (retrospective report) to during the COVID‐19 pandemic, in a nationwide sample of US parents with a child 5‐18 years of age (N = 584). A 3 × 3 χ² analysis was used to test distribution differences (P < 0.01). COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019.