Washington residents continue to experience a dramatically higher level of food insecurity — from 10% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 27%, according to theresearch on food insecurity and food assistance in the state.

The study team also found that need for food assistance has continued to rise. Before COVID-19, about 29% of respondents reported using food assistance. In wave 1 of the survey, food assistance use increased to 33% of respondents; by wave 2, food assistance use was reported by 42% of the sample.

UW researchers say those numbers mean some people in Washington are going hungry and many more are not getting a steady diet of healthy food or the kinds of food their families are used to making for themselves.

“Agencies are doing what they can, but these are exceptionally difficult times for marginalized and economically insecure families,” said , one of the leaders of the survey team, UW food systems director and associate professor of nutritional sciences in the UW School of Public Health. “The pandemic continues to worsen preexisting inequalities and lay bare shortcomings of our social and economic structure. While the current level of food insecurity is alarming to see, so was seeing more than 1 in 10 Washingtonians food insecure before the start of COVID-19.”

The latest survey results are the second wave in a series of surveys being conducted by UW and WSU. The first Washington State Food Security Survey (WAFOOD) ran from June 18 to July 31 in 2020, receiving 2,616 responses from 38 of 39 counties. The second survey ran from Dec. 4 to Jan. 31, receiving 3,511 responses from 38 of 39 counties.

A third wave of the WAFOOD survey is . The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and asks questions about your health, food access and economic needs.

“This suggests that the economic impacts of the pandemic are continuing to compound and, similar to prior recessions, there is likely to be a delay in improved food security even after the economy stabilizes,” Otten said. “Our results are telling an important and still unfolding story of how our social safety nets, which were already struggling to meet need pre-COVID, are now faced with even greater need.”

You can read the full report of the survey .

“The continuation of the WAFOOD survey series is essential to meeting immediate need as best as we can, as well as for advocating for equitable change that was obviously, perhaps now more than ever, needed. There continue to be disparities in food insecurity and need among families with children, low-income households and BIPOC households,” Otten said.

The UW team included School of Public Health faculty and staff ,��,��,��,��,�������Ի���, all affiliated with the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition. Washington State University was represented by , director of the Food Systems Program, and Tacoma Community College was represented by , professor of health, business and profession services. This project has been supported by the UW Population Heath Initiative and School of Public Health, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and other private philanthropy.

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For more information, contact Jennifer Otten at jotten@uw.edu.

Understanding Washington residents’ access to food and their economic well-being – or lack of it – during the COVID-19 pandemic is vital for state and community partners to identify those needs and allocate resources effectively.

To help accomplish this goal, the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý, Washington State University and Tacoma Community College, along with input from partners in local, county and state governments — such as the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington State Department of Agriculture — are conducting a series of .

The first wave of this series of surveys was conducted in June and July, and 2,621 Washington residents from 38 of 39 counties responded. Now researchers are recruiting participants in the survey’s second wave.

“The first survey found that food insecurity was high among state residents, and that the majority of food insecure households had children. We also found disparities in the burden of food insecurity by income, race, ethnicity and educational attainment,” said , one of the leaders of the survey team and a UW associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the School of Public Health.

Specifically, the first wave of the found:

• Food insecurity was high, alarmingly so, in the summer following the state shutdown, affecting an estimated 30% of households, exacerbating pre-existing social inequities.
• Highest rates of food insecurity – 58% – were observed among households below the poverty line.
• Households having members with some or no college education were also disproportionately impacted with 44% of respondents experiencing food insecurity.
• 42% of respondents of color experienced food insecurity.
• About 40% of all survey participants reported that their diet got worse.
• Participants reported being concerned about safety in supermarkets and grocery stores, rising food costs, access and transportation.
• Post Covid-19 diets had more eggs, rice, beans, pasta and peanut butter but less meat, seafood and milk and dairy.
• Store bought cakes and cookies decreased but there was a sharp increase in cooking at home.

“Our findings also helped to characterize which and how food assistance programs were working for Washington residents as well as where additional changes might be needed to better support their food needs. Public agencies and anti-hunger networks held the survey up as useful in informing their programs and distribution and outreach needs,” Otten said.

Complete results of the first survey are available .

The second wave of the currently is underway and runs until mid-January.

Survey questions ask about access to food and food assistance, employment conditions and financial needs, as well as diet quality and health. The survey takes about 15 minutes or less to complete and is open to all Washington State residents age 18 years or older.

“Wave 2 will monitor the continuing impact of the pandemic on economic- and food-related wellbeing eight months after the initial lockdown. We hope to continue to add more waves of data collection to monitor the ongoing situation,” Otten said. “The data collected will be used by legislators, public agencies and anti-hunger networks to allocate resources, provide support and promote the recovery of Washington residents.”

The UW team included School of Public Health faculty and staff: , , ;��,��,�������Ի���, all affiliated with the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition. Washington State University was represented by , director of the Food Systems Program, and Tacoma Community College by , professor of health, business and profession services. This project is supported by a charitable donation from the Ballmer Group.

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For more information, contact Otten at jotten@uw.edu.