By Jennifer Pullen, Senior Research Economist
The article is courtesy of the Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona project.
July 30, 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide-reaching implications worldwide from serious health consequences to increased food insecurity. Feeding America estimates that the number of individuals experiencing food insecurity in the U.S. could increase by up to 17.1 million due to the pandemic. Food insecurity is defined as a household’s inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. It is one way we can measure and assess the risk of hunger. Research shows that food insecurity can cause a myriad of health problems, especially for children and seniors. Prior to the pandemic, 13.6% of Tucson’s population experienced food insecurity, which translated to 137,450 individuals. Among peer western metropolitan areas, Tucson had the fourth-highest rate of food insecurity in 2017, just behind Phoenix (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Percent of Population Food Insecure (2017)
The Census Bureau recently reported that in June, 3.9 million children experienced COVID-19 related food shortages and that households with children have been hit harder by the financial implications of the pandemic. In 2018, over half of the children enrolled in school qualified for a free or reduced lunch. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the closure of most schools across the nation increasing the vulnerability that these children face daily. To learn more about food insecurity and the potential impacts of the coronavirus pandemic check out the recent articles “How Food Secure are Tucson’s Children” and “How Food Insecure is Tucson?” published on the MAP Dashboard. Also, don’t miss the recent MAP Talk on Food Insecurity.
