Regional differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food sufficiency in California, April-July, 2020: Implications for food programs and policies

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate regional differences in factors associated with food insufficiency during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic among three major metropolitan regions in California, a state with historically low participation rates in the Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation's largest food assistance program DESIGN: Analysis of cross-sectional data from Phase 1 (April 23 - July 21, 2020) of the U S Census Household Pulse Survey, a weekly national online survey SETTING: California, and three Californian Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), including San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSAs PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 18 years and older living in households RESULTS: Among the three metropolitan areas, food insufficiency rates were lowest in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley MSA Measures of disadvantage (e g having low-income, being unemployed, recent loss of employment, and pre-pandemic food insufficiency) were widely associated with household food insufficiency However, disadvantaged households in the San Francisco Bay Area, the area with the lowest poverty and unemployment rates, were more likely to be food insufficient compared to those in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSAs CONCLUSIONS: Food insufficiency risk among disadvantaged households differed by region To be effective, governmental response to food insufficiency must address the varied local circumstances that contribute to these disparities