The Impact of Covid-19 on Food Security. A qualitative analysis of the rise in London’s existing food insecurity due to the financial impact of Covid-19

Background: The lockdown, enforced by government to limit the spread of Covid-19, has resulted in economic standstill equating to decreased working hours, pay cuts and job losses which has caused an increase in food insecurity. In the latest global food security report, 3.4 million people in the UK alone were found to be moderately to severely food insecure. Since the lockdown began, 8 million people have reported food insecurity which disproportionately effects those most vulnerable. This study aims to determine who these vulnerable groups to food insecurity are in the UK and what needs to be done to facilitate positive change and minimise future inequalities. Methods: This observational quantitative study makes use of the Understanding Society Covid-19 survey data which forms part of a longstanding longitudinal study that has acted as a representative of all households within the UK since 2009. Access to raw data was granted by the UK Data Service and was analysed using the appropriate SPSS tests. The original sample was stratified to be representative of London, which then consisted of 1849 respondents. Selected questions relating to financial and food bank use were analysed using SPSS and compared between February (pre-lockdown) and April (post-lockdown). Results: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) respondents and those not born in the UK had significantly less monthly income than their counterparts in February and remained significantly lower during the lockdown. These groups also had an increased dependency on foodbanks since the start of the pandemic. Conclusion: BAME communities and those not born in the UK are revealed to be the most vulnerable groups to food insecurity. The government has taken steps to mitigate the negative financial impact of the pandemic for some, yet many had to rely on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to fill in the gaps. The current health crisis provides an opportunity for change and the UK government should act now to prevent many more becoming victims to food insecurity.

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Examining the impact of COVID-19 and its related lockdown on food security and job losses: A case of Kumasi, Ghana

10.21203/rs.3.rs-992274/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frank Adusei

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Online Marketing ◽

Time Range ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

Abstract The COVID-19 and partial lockdown has brought significant effects on the entire economy, especially on food security and job losses. This study was carried out in Asokwa Municipal with the objective of examining the impact of COVID-19 disease and its related lockdown on food and nutrition security and job losses. The study site form part of the cities in Ghana to experience the partial lockdown, hence it qualifies for the selection. Both primary and secondary data were used. By means of purposive sampling technique, fifty respondents were selected as sample size. The study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive and narrative posture to the presentation, discussion and analysis of data. Open-ended questionnaire and a checklist were used for data collection through semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that, food and nutrition insecurity, job loss and income reductions are still very common, affecting participants livelihood. Disproportionally affected are households whose income comes from farming, transporters, informal labour, as well as marketers.It was concluded that food insecurity is not outside the impact of COVID-19 and its associated partial lockdown. Food and nutrition security are the global concern at present circumstances. The supply chain has been hit hardest by COVID-19, which causes food insecurity of most vulnerable segment of population which put them at risk. And also, most of the migrant, informal, seasonal farm workers were losing their jobs which may affect their demand for food. Therefore, the government should step-up the measures to control the pandemic without disturbing the food supply chain. The development and use of online marketing strategies where people can make orders of various produce and booked for purchases and or deliveries during a stated time range should be promoted.

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Exploring the Impact of Crises on Food Security in Lebanon: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Study

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168753 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8753

Author(s):

Maha Hoteit ◽

Youssef Al-Atat ◽

Hussein Joumaa ◽

Suheir El Ghali ◽

Rania Mansour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Assessment System ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The People ◽

Food Consumption Score ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

This study aims to explore the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among Lebanese households since the ordeals of COVID-19, economic crisis, and Beirut port explosions. At the core of the study, a mobile application entitled Nutrition Assessment System (NAS) that simplified the data collection was used as toolkit and a technical test was carried out in all Lebanese governorates between November 2020 and March 2021. Findings show that food insecurity is an immediate problem for households in Beirut and in many governorates in Lebanon. Nine in every 16 households ate less than 2 meals per day and more than 70% of them skipped their meals to spare food. Even though half the population studied had a low food consumption score, 82.4% of the people were not relying on livelihood coping strategies. However, more than three out of ten of these households relied on at least three food-based coping strategies. In addition, as for the livelihoods, this assessment found that most Lebanese households reported a drop in income along with an expansion in debt incurrence in the last 24 months to be able to buy food. Improving food security in Lebanon requires effort not only on the part of the government, but through regional and international actions.

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IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON AGRICULTURE, FOOD PRICES, AND FOOD SECURITY IN MOROCCO

International Journal of Financial Accountability, Economics, Management, and Auditing (IJFAEMA) ◽

10.52502/ijfaema.v3i5.179 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

pp. 973-988

Author(s):

Houria ET-TOUILE ◽

Fatima ARIB

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Supply ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Food Prices ◽

World Health ◽

Agricultural Labor ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Global Food Security ◽

The Impact

With the global health crisis related to the new coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), the thorny issue of food security has arisen with force, especially with shortages of certain products on the markets, soaring prices, and sometimes even stock-outs. The covid-19 pandemic has led to a global economic crisis that has called into question the stability ensuring global food security. So, the present paper aims to analyze and discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on agriculture, food supply, and food security in Morocco. Toward this end, data provided by the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been analyzed, as well as studies conducted and published on the subject. The findings indicate that the Covid 19 pandemic has ensued several negative effects, which have directly and indirectly threatened Moroccan food security. It severely affected the agricultural sector which contributes significantly to GDP, due to suspension of agricultural activities, restriction of trade in agricultural commodities, and agricultural labor. Also, It has primarily affected food imports due to the dependence on food importation and has impacted food supply chains, as the shutdown and closing of some stores severely disrupted the supply chain (transportation, storage, and distribution), resulting in food insufficiency in many far areas. Globally, food security in Morocco has demonstrated its resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the agricultural strategy put in place, the market was regularly supplied and the availability of products was ensured in all the cities of the Kingdom. Finally, based on the findings, we have suggested some recommendations that would help boost sustainable food security.

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How COVID-19 has exposed inequalities in the UK food system: The case of UK food and poverty

Emerald Open Research ◽

10.35241/emeraldopenres.13539.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Madeleine Power ◽

Bob Doherty ◽

Katie Pybus ◽

Kate Pickett

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Economic Crisis ◽

Low Income ◽

Food System ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Food Banks ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

The Government ◽

The Uk ◽

Household Incomes

This article draws upon our perspective as academic-practitioners working in the fields of food insecurity, food systems, and inequality to comment, in the early stages of the pandemic and associated lockdown, on the empirical and ethical implications of COVID-19 for socio-economic inequalities in access to food in the UK. The COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the profound insecurity of large segments of the UK population, an insecurity itself the product of a decade of ‘austerity’ policies. Increased unemployment, reduced hours, and enforced self-isolation for multiple vulnerable groups is likely to lead to an increase in UK food insecurity, exacerbating diet-related health inequalities. The social and economic crisis associated with the pandemic has exposed the fragility of the system of food charity which, at present, is a key response to growing poverty. A vulnerable food system, with just-in-time supply chains, has been challenged by stockpiling. Resultant food supply issues at food banks, alongside rapidly increasing demand and reduced volunteer numbers, has undermined many food charities, especially independent food banks. In the light of this analysis, we make a series of recommendations. We call for an immediate end to the five week wait for Universal Credit and cash grants for low income households. We ask central and local government to recognise that many food aid providers are already at capacity and unable to adopt additional responsibilities. The government’s - significant - response to the economic crisis associated with COVID-19 has underscored a key principle: it is the government’s responsibility to protect population health, to guarantee household incomes, and to safeguard the economy. Millions of households were in poverty before the pandemic, and millions more will be so unless the government continues to protect household incomes through policy change.

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Household food security during Covid-19 pandemic in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Sustinere Journal of Environment and Sustainability ◽

10.22515/sustinere.jes.v4i2.118 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 132-143

Author(s):

Nurwulan Purnasari ◽

Titisari Juwitangtyas ◽

Iman Sabarisman

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Financial Crisis ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Future Research ◽

Household Food Insecurity ◽

Household Food ◽

The Impact

Household food security in Indonesia depends on many factors. This study aims to describe household food security during the Covid-19 pandemic in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY). This research was conducted using a questionnaire for taking data. This study showed that there was a difference in household food security between the pre-pandemic of Covid-19 and during the pandemic of Covid-19. The hunger scale di DIY at the pre-pandemic of Covid-19 was 6% and increased during the pandemic of Covid-19 to 11%. It is showed that the financial crisis because of Covid-19 also influenced at increasing household food insecurity. As far as future research is concerned, the impact of food insecurity in vulnerable groups within the studied communities needs to be determined.

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Examining the impact of COVID-19 and its related lockdown on food security and job losses: A case of Kumasi, Ghana

10.21203/rs.3.rs-992274/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frank Adusei

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Online Marketing ◽

Time Range ◽

Food And Nutrition Security ◽

Nutrition Security ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

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The RUMA Alliance targets: an overview

Livestock ◽

10.12968/live.2021.26.4.176 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 176-179

Author(s):

Chris Lloyd

Keyword(s):

Task Force ◽

Animal Health ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Codes Of Practice ◽

The Government ◽

The Uk ◽

Ongoing Support ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into ◽

Roll Out

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) was established to promote the highest standards of food safety, animal health and animal welfare in the British livestock industry. It has a current focus to deliver on the Government objective of identifying sector-specific targets for the reduction, refinement or replacement of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The creation and roll out of sector specific targets in 2017 through the RUMA Targets Task Force, has helped focus activity across the UK livestock sectors to achieve a 50% reduction in antibiotic use since 2014. This has been realised principally through voluntary multi-sector collaboration, cross sector initiatives, codes of practice, industry body support and farm assurance schemes. This article provides an overview of RUMA's work to date providing insight into the methods used to create the targets, why they are so important, the impact they are having and how ongoing support and robust data are vital components in achieving the latest set of targets.

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The Impact of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Income and Food Security: Empirical Evidence from Small-Scale Fishers in Indonesia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147905 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7905

Author(s):

Moh. Shadiqur Rahman ◽

Hery Toiba ◽

Wen-Chi Huang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Substantial Effect ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Small Scale ◽

Probit Regression ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact ◽

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

The impacts of climate change on marine capture fisheries have been observed in several studies. It is likely to have a substantial effect on fishers’ income and food security. This study aims to estimate the impact of adaptation strategies on fishers’ income and their household’s food security. Data were collected from small-scale fishers’ households, which own a fishing boat smaller or equal to five gross tonnages (GT). The study sites were the two coastal regions of Malang and Probolinggo in East Java, Indonesia, due to the meager socioeconomic resources caused by climate change. A probit regression model was used to determine the factors influencing the fishers’ adaptation. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to evaluate the impact of the adaptation strategies on income and food security. Food security was measured by food consumption score (FCS). The findings indicated that participation in the fishers’ group affected adaptation strategies significantly, and so did the access to credit and climate information. Also, PSM showed that the adaptation strategies had a positive and significant impact on fishers’ income and food security. Those who applied the adaptation strategies had a higher income and FCS than those who did not. This finding implies that the fishery sector’s adaptation strategies can have significant expansion outcome and reduce exposure to risks posed by climate change. Therefore, the arrangement of more climate change adaptation strategies should be promoted by the government for small-scale fishers in Indonesia.

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High food insecurity in Latinx families and associated COVID-19 infection in the Greater Bay Area, California

BMC Nutrition ◽

10.1186/s40795-021-00419-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Milagro Escobar ◽

Andrea DeCastro Mendez ◽

Maria Romero Encinas ◽

Sofia Villagomez ◽

Janet M. Wojcicki

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

San Francisco ◽

Employment Status ◽

The United States ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Bay Area ◽

Household Food ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Food insecurity impacts nearly one-in-four Latinx households in the United States and has been exacerbated by the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We examined the impact of COVID-19 on household and child food security in three preexisting, longitudinal, Latinx urban cohorts in the San Francisco Bay Area (N = 375 households, 1875 individuals). Households were initially recruited during pregnancy and postpartum at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) and UCSF Benioff prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this COVID-19 sub-study, participants responded to a 15-min telephonic interview. Participants answered 18 questions from the US Food Security Food Module (US HFSSM) and questions on types of food consumption, housing and employment status, and history of COVID-19 infection as per community or hospital-based testing. Food security and insecurity levels were compared with prior year metrics. Results We found low levels of household food security in Latinx families (by cohort: 29.2%; 34.2%; 60.0%) and child food security (56.9%, 54.1%, 78.0%) with differences between cohorts explained by self-reported levels of education and employment status. Food security levels were much lower than those reported previously in two cohorts where data had been recorded from prior years. Reported history of COVID-19 infection in households was 4.8% (95% Confidence Interval (CI); 1.5–14.3%); 7.2% (95%CI, 3.6–13.9%) and 3.5% (95%CI, 1.7–7.2%) by cohort and was associated with food insecurity in the two larger cohorts (p = 0.03; p = 0.01 respectively). Conclusions Latinx families in the Bay Area with children are experiencing a sharp rise in food insecurity levels during the COVID-19 epidemic. Food insecurity, similar to other indices of poverty, is associated with increased risk for COVID-19 infection. Comprehensive interventions are needed to address food insecurity in Latinx populations and further studies are needed to better assess independent associations between household food insecurity, poor nutritional health and risk of COVID-19 infection.

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security in India: baseline results of a phone survey

Food Security ◽

10.1007/s12571-021-01164-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lindsay M. Jaacks ◽

Divya Veluguri ◽

Rajesh Serupally ◽

Aditi Roy ◽

Poornima Prabhakaran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

Dietary Diversity ◽

The Past ◽

Phone Survey ◽

Extra Food ◽

The Government ◽

Time Of Year ◽

Livestock Products ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on agricultural production, livelihoods, food security, and dietary diversity in India. Phone interview surveys were conducted by trained enumerators across 12 states and 200 districts in India from 3 to 15 May 2020. A total of 1437 farmers completed the survey (94% male; 28% 30–39 years old; 38% with secondary schooling). About one in ten farmers (11%) did not harvest in the past month with primary reasons cited being unfavorable weather (37%) and lockdown-related reasons (24%). A total of 63% of farmers harvested in the past month (primarily wheat and vegetables), but only 44% had sold their crop; 12% were still trying to sell their crop, and 39% had stored their crop, with more than half (55%) reporting lockdown-related issues as the reason for storing. Seventy-nine percent of households with wage-workers witnessed a decline in wages in the past month and 49% of households with incomes from livestock witnessed a decline. Landless farmers were about 10 times more likely to skip a meal as compared to large farmers (18% versus 2%), but a majority reported receiving extra food rations from the government. Nearly all farmers reported consuming staple grains daily in the past week (97%), 63% consumed dairy daily, 40% vegetables daily, 26% pulses daily, and 7% fruit daily. These values are much lower than reported previously for farmers in India around this time of year before COVID-19: 94–95% dairy daily, 57–58% pulses daily, 64–65% vegetables daily, and 42–43% fruit daily. In conclusion, we found that the COVID-19 lockdown in India has primarily impacted farmers’ ability to sell their crops and livestock products and decreased daily wages and dietary diversity.

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