Examining Food Security, Choices and Barriers among Community Supported Agriculture Participants during COVID- 19 in Kentucky

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging food security. Our study’s purpose was to examine relationships among food security status, eating patterns and perceived barriers to food choices among shareholders (N = 209) in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program during stay-at-home restrictions due to the pandemic. The food insecure group (n = 33) reported lower consumption of fruits/vegetables, whole grains and greater consumption of fast foods and more barriers to food choices compared to the food secure group (p < .05). A low food insecure proportion (16%) among the CSA participants suggests a potential role of a CSA program to prevent food insecurity.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• food security
• food insecurity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This publication was supported by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through [Grant UL1TR001998]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.