Abstract. The population’s demand for food is the most important element of the region's food system in the context of modern global challenges and risks. The problems of effective life support for residents of a large city have their own specifics and patterns of development. The purpose of the study was to identify the dynamics of demand and its determining factors in the food market of St. Petersburg, including their changes in the conditions of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Methods. Abstract-logical, monographic and economic-statistical methods were used. Results. The article provides a comparative assessment of structural changes in the level of food consumption by city residents, the average per capita income of the population, changes in price parameters that affect purchasing power. It is revealed that the trend of reducing the consumption of almost all types of products by the population of St. Petersburg in 2018 remains unchanged. This indirectly reflects the lack of economic availability of food, which is confirmed by data on the distribution of total monetary income of the population by 20 percent groups. It is concluded that despite the higher growth rates of monetary incomes of the city's population from 2015 to 2018, the share of the number of residents in the groups with lower incomes increased. It shows a decrease in consumer demand during the pandemic. In combination with the increase in food prices, this is a factor that limits the consumption activity of citizens, an indicator of which is the size and structure of family spending on food. The implementation of the policy of import substitution creates prerequisites for the growth of supply in the food market of St. Petersburg due to the resource capabilities of the production of local producers. Scientific novelty consists in determining trends and structural changes in consumer behavior of households in order to justify urgent measures to change it in the desired direction, in the face of increasing external shocks and challenges.
