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Food Insecurity Trajectories in the US During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Figure 1.

Prevalence of any food insecurity among respondents (N = 7,944) to the Understanding America Study, Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey, April 2020 through March 2021. Shading indicates 95% CIs.

Prevalence of any food insecurity among respondents (N = 7,944) to the Understanding America Study, Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey, April 2020 through March 2021. Shading indicates 95% CIs.
2020, % (95% CI) 2021, % (95% CI)
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
20.4 (18.9-22.0) 13.1 (11.9-14.4) 10.8 (9.7-12.0) 9.8 (8.7-10.8) 11.3 (10.2-12.5) 10.6 (9.4-11.7) 9.1 (8.1-10.2) 8.6 (7.6-9.6) 10.0 (8.9-11.1) 9.5 (8.4-10.6) 9.5 (8.4-10.7) 8.9 (7.8-10.0)

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Figure 2.

Probability of experiencing food insecurity among respondents (N = 7,944) to the Understanding America Study, Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey, April 2020 through March 2021. Three categories (remained secure, remained insecure, and remained elevated) were characterized as consistent. Two categories (initial shock 1 and initial shock 2) were characterized by a rapid decline in food insecurity status between March and July 2020. Three categories (recovering 1, recovering 2, and recovering 3) were defined as having experienced food insecurity initially, with the likelihood steadily declining during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two categories (became insecure 1 and became insecure 2) were defined as steadily becoming food insecure during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Abbreviation: FDA, Food and Drug Administration.

Probability of experiencing food insecurity among respondents (N = 7,944) to the Understanding America Study, Understanding Coronavirus in America tracking survey, April 2020 through March 2021. Three categories (remained secure, remained insecure, and remained elevated) were characterized as consistent. Two categories (initial shock 1 and initial shock 2) were characterized by a rapid decline in food insecurity status between March and July 2020. Three categories (recovering 1, recovering 2, and recovering 3) were defined as having experienced food insecurity initially, with the likelihood steadily declining during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two categories (became insecure 1 and became insecure 2) were defined as steadily becoming food insecure during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Abbreviation: FDA, Food and Drug Administration.
Trajectory 2020 2021
April May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Remained secure 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Initial shock 1 64.3 38.3 17.6 6.9 2.5 0.9 0.2 0.1 0 0 0 0
Initial shock 2 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Remained elevated 13.6 12.9 12.3 11.7 11.1 10.6 9.8 9.3 8.8 8.4 7.9 7.5
Recovering 1 73.3 66.3 58.6 50.4 42.3 34.5 24.3 18.7 14.2 10.7 7.9 5.8
Recovering 2 81.0 79.0 76.8 74.5 72.0 69.4 65.2 62.3 59.3 56.2 53.0 49.9
Recovering 3 98.8 98.3 97.6 96.7 95.4 93.7 89.8 86.3 81.7 76.0 69.3 61.6
Remained insecure 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Became insecure 1 23.7 26.6 29.8 33.1 36.6 40.3 46.0 49.9 53.8 57.6 61.4 65.0
Became insecure 2 53.9 61.5 68.6 74.9 80.3 84.8 89.9 92.4 94.3 95.8 96.9 97.7

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