Food Insecurity Goes Viral

By: Aline D'Angelo

The coronavirus pandemic has led to millions of layoffs and plummeting donations from retailers to food banks and pantries. While we would expect this situation to put pressure on the system, the miles-long lines of cars seeking food assistance in the last few months have brought the dark reality of food insecurity in the US into the spotlight. More than 10% of Americans cannot stably afford sufficient nutritious food under normal circumstances, and racial minorities are disproportionately represented among them. Food insecurity is never acceptable, but being a strong driver of health disparities among marginalized population groups, it has even more serious implications for who gets to survive during this pandemic.

Compared to other nations, people in the US spend the smallest share of their income on food: 6.4% on average. Yet, this is far from being the country with the lowest food insecurity rates. The FAO’s “Food Insecurity Experience Scale” reveals that there are more food-insecure people here than in most developed countries. For example, Germans spend 10.7% of their income on food, and 3.6% are food insecure; the French spend more than twice as much as Americans (13.2% of their income), and only 6.4% are food insecure; and the Japanese spend almost three times as much (15.9% of their income), but a mere 2.8% are food insecure. Even some developing countries where food is astoundingly more expensive have food insecurity rates comparable to the US’s. Take Estonia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan, where inhabitants respectively spend 20.3%, 31.7%, and 44.8% of their incomes on food, and food insecurity rates are 8.6%, 8.1%, and 9.3%. It seems like having a twentieth of the US’s resources is enough to do a better job of feeding people.

Wonder why? One key difference exists between the US and other wealthy nations: the more aggressive marginalization of minorities – especially racial minorities. For example, here in North Carolina, data from Feeding America reveals that at the county level, a higher percentage of blacks is associated with greater food insecurity rates. The relationship between race and food insecurity is statistically undeniable. Other researchers find similar patterns nationwide, and for other minority groups: food insecurity rates among Blacks and Hispanics are twice as high as those among whites.

In developed countries, where full-fledged hunger is not an issue, food insecurity is highly associated with obesity. This relationship may seem counterintuitive, but a quick trip through an American grocery store explains it. The cheapest products available are usually highly processed and calorically dense, but nutritionally poor. Obesity is associated with chronic conditions such as heart disease (already the US’s number one killer) and diabetes. And as we have learned, these chronic conditions increase people’s chances of dying from Covid-19.

And then there’s stress. The relationship between stress and immune system depression is well documented. And minorities aren’t just experiencing the same level of stress as everyone else. The sort of life-long marginalization that leads them to food insecurity produces higher long-term stress, so it comes as no surprise that lower immune responses are also documented among minorities. Yet again we find marginalized population groups exposed to increased risk in this pandemic.

A virus cannot see color or bank accounts, but the current system is ensuring that Covid-19 kills more Latinxs, Blacks, and Native Americans than whites. Food access is one critical mechanism contributing to this phenomenon. Because the wealthiest country on Earth has not seen fit to ensure nutritious food for all, it now disproportionately condemns lives among its most vulnerable people.