Employment and Food During Coronavirus

Key Findings 1. 45% of respondents with jobs experienced some type of job disruption or loss. 19.7% had a reduction in hours or income, 9.3% had been furloughed, and 15.5% had lost their job since the coronavirus outbreak. 2. 38.5% of respondents experiencing job loss or disruption since the outbreak were classified as food insecure. 3. Respondents experiencing job disruption or loss were significantly more likely to be already implementing food purchasing or eating changes and concerned about food access compared to those who did not experience a change in employment. 4. Respondents with job disruption or loss were significantly more likely to need higher amounts of money per week to help meet their basic needs if they could no longer afford food ($100 with a reduction in hours/income,$107 furloughed, $158 with job loss, compared to$82 with no job impact)

The Impact of Coronavirus on Vermonters Experiencing Food Insecurity

Key Findings 1. Respondents experiencing food insecurity were more likely to be people of color, female, live in households with children, and live in larger households. 2. 84.2% of respondents who experienced food insecurity at some point in the year before the coronavirus pandemic remained food insecure during the early days of the outbreak. 3. The majority of respondents experiencing food insecurity are not utilizing food assistance programs. 4. ⅔ of respondents experiencing food insecurity are already buying different, cheaper foods or eating less to make their food last. 5. ⅔ of respondents experiencing food insecurity with a job had job disruption or loss since the coronavirus outbreak. 6. Vermonters are helping each other – there was a reported doubling in the percentage of people receiving their food via delivery from other people

Food Access and Security During Coronavirus: A Vermont Study

Key Findings 1. Respondents reported a 33% increase in food insecurity since the coronavirus outbreak began in Vermont (from 18% to 24%). 2. 45% of respondents with jobs experienced a job disruption or loss. 3. Respondents said the most helpful actions for meeting their food needs would be increased trust in the safety of going to stores and more food in stores. 4. Respondents worried most about food becoming unaffordable and running out of food if they were unable to go out. 5. Vermonters are using a variety of strategies to adapt: a majority of respondents are at least somewhat likely to buy foods that don\u27t go bad quickly (90%); buy different, cheaper foods (69%); and stretch the food they have by eating less (52%)

A Survey of Publicity Methods Employed by Fraternal Organizations and Civic Groups of Milwaukee

The purpose of this thesis is to determine to what extent fraternal and civic organizations of Milwaukee make use of publicity, to determine the principles that are taken into consideration by such groups in the dissemination of propaganda and, also, to discover the technique and methods which they employ

Optimising locational access of deprived populations to farmers’ markets at a national scale: one route to improved fruit and vegetable consumption?

Background. Evidence suggests that improved locational access to farmers’ markets increases fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, particularly for low-income groups. Therefore, we modelled potential alternative distributions of farmers’ markets in one country (New Zealand) to explore the potential impact for deprived populations and an indigenous population (Māori).Methods. Data were collected on current farmers’ markets (n = 48), population distributions, area deprivation, and roads. Geographic analyses were performed to optimize market locations for the most deprived populations.Results. We found that, currently, farmers’ markets provided fairly poor access for the total population: 7% within 12.5 km (15 min driving time); 5% within 5 km; and 3% within 2 km. Modelling the optimal distribution of the 48 markets substantially improved access for the most deprived groups: 9% (vs 2% currently) within 12.5 km; 5% (vs 1%) within 5 km; and 3% (vs 1%) within 2 km. Access for Māori also improved: 22% (vs 7%) within 12.5 km; 12% (vs 4%) within 5 km; and 6% (vs 2%) within 2 km. Smaller pro-equity results arose from optimising the locations of the 18 least pro-equity markets or adding 10 new markets.Conclusion. These results highlight the potential for improving farmers’ market locations to increase accessibility for groups with low FV consumption. Given that such markets are easily established and relocated, local governments could consider these results to inform decisions, including subsidies for using government land and facilities. Such results can also inform central governments planning around voucher schemes for such markets and exempting them from taxes (e.g., VAT/GST)

COVID-19 Impacts on Food Security and Systems: A Third Survey of Vermonters

This brief report highlights the findings from a third survey of Vermonters since COVID-19. We surveyed 600 Vermonters, representative on Vermont demographics on race, ethnicity and income in August and September 2020. We find that nearly 30% of Vermont respondent households were food insecure between March and September, with households experiencing a job disruption, households with children, and respondents without a college degree at greater odds for food insecurity. One-third of respondents used some type of food assistance program since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns about food access and challenges had largely gone down, on average since March 2020; however, concerns about the cost of food and losing access to food assistance programs have gone up since March 2020. We also identify impacts on diet quality, with 25% of respondents overall, and 50% of respondents in households with food insecurity, indicating they ate fewer fruits and vegetables since COVID-19. We also document a large number of respondents (42%) engaging in home food procurement (fishing, foraging, hunting, gardening) since COVID-19, with many doing this for the first time or more intensely this year. These results highlight the depth of COVID-19\u27s impact on food security and systems over time in Vermont

Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Following a Group of Vermonters During the First Year

We surveyed a cohort of Vermonters three times during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the impacts of the pandemic on food security and food access. The surveys were conducted in March/April 2020, June 2020, and March/April 2021. A total of 441 Vermonters responded to all three surveys. This brief shares changes in their experiences between March 2020 and March 2021. Key findings include: 1. Food insecurity rates increased during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. 2. 31.6% of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point in the first year of the pandemic. Of those, 46.9% were food insecure before the pandemic, but over half (53.1%) were newly food insecure. Of the respondents who experienced food insecurity at any point during the pandemic, 61.9% were still food insecure in March 2021. 3. People without a college degree, those with a job disruption, households with children, women, and younger people had greater odds of experiencing food insecurity in March 2021. 4. Fewer respondents were using federal food assistance programs and food pantries in March 2021 compared to earlier in the pandemic. 5. More than half of respondents (54.2%) reported suffering a job disruption (i.e. job loss, reduction in work hours or income, furlough) since March 2020 and 18.4% were still experiencing a job disruption in March 2021. 6. Vermonters today are less concerned about food becoming more expensive and possible loss of food assistance programs compared to earlier in the pandemic