ASU Food Policy and Environment Research Group

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to disruptions in the food supply and high rates of unemployment and under-employment, both in Arizona and nationally. These emergencies required food assistance programs to adapt quickly and in unprecedented ways by relaxing eligibility criteria, improvising on delivery modalities, and increasing benefits. To examine food assistance program participation during the pandemic, we collected data from a representative sample of 620 Arizona households. The sample was drawn from across Arizona in July-August 2020 using an online survey. This brief provides the summary for participation in key food assistance programs, namely, the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC), School Food Programs, and the emergency food assistance provided through food pantries.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the resulting closures of schools, businesses, and restaurants led to a massive economic disruption in Arizona. The unemployment rate at its peak reached 14.2% (April 2020) - a level even higher than during the great recession of 2008. High unemployment rates, coupled with a breakdown of local and national food supply chains, led to a remarkable increase in food insecurity rates among Arizona households. More than a year later, as vaccines became widely available and restrictions were lifted, schools and business began to reopen, and most activities slowly returned to pre-pandemic standards. The effects of the pandemic on food insecurity and food-related behaviors, however, might have long-lasting effects. This brief describes levels of food insecurity, food assistance program participation, job disruption, and food related behaviors among 814 households in Arizona, in the 12 months preceding the pandemic (March 2019 – March 2020) and approximately one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ( January 2021 –April 2021). Data collection took place between April and May 2021.

In the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, food assistance programs adapted quickly and in unprecedented ways to meet the challenges of high unemployment, disruptions in the food supply, and school closures. Supported by US Department of Agriculture’s COVID-19 program-specific waivers, some programs relaxed their eligibility criteria, while others improvised on delivery modalities or temporarily increased benefits.1 To examine food assistance program participation and participant experiences during the first few months of the pandemic, we collected online survey data in July 2020 from a sample of over 1,500 U.S. households, representative of the US population. This brief summarizes participation in key food assistance programs, namely, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC), School Food Programs, as well as emergency food assistance provided through Food Pantries.