Home food insecurity during the suspension of classes in Brazilian public schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Date
2022
Authors
Rodrigues, Erica Costa
Mendonça, Raquel de Deus
Camargo, Priscila Pena
Menezes, Mariana Carvalho de
Carvalho, Natália Caldeira de
Meireles, Adriana Lúcia
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Abstract
Objectives: We sought to evaluate the effect of socioeconomic conditions and variables related to the COVID19 pandemic on the food insecurity of students during suspension of classes in public schools.
Methods: This was a telephone survey (n = 612) of adults responsible for purchasing food through representative samples of students in two Brazilian municipalities in June and July 2020. The outcome was food insecurity, assessed using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to
estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) for sociodemographic and pandemic-related
factors of COVID-19.
Results: The total prevalence of food insecurity in households was 82%, with 65.7% mild food insecurity, 11.3%
moderate, and 5.0% severe. After adjustment for confounding factors, households with the highest number of
children (OR = 2.17; 95% CI, 1.10 4.27) and households that received local-government basic food baskets
(OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 1.04 2.58) were significantly associated with food insecurity. Furthermore, households
that did not experience a decrease in income during the pandemic were inversely associated with food insecurity (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.09 0.32).
Conclusions: The prevalence of food insecurity was high, and policies for the distribution of food baskets
may not be sufficient to guarantee food security for the most vulnerable families with a greater number of children. Considering the possible worsening of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic,
the National School Feeding Program has the potential to play a strategic role in promoting food security for students.
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Keywords
School feeding, Basic food basket
Citation
RODRIGUES, E. C. et al. Home food insecurity during the suspension of classes in Brazilian public schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrition, v. 93, artigo 111448, 2022. Disponível em: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900721003105>. Acesso em: 11 out. 2022.