Restaurant dining during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults with low-income in the United States

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mobile Produce Market Operations: Adaptations, Barriers, and Future Directions for Increasing Food Access

“…Pre-ordering services became increasingly important during the pandemic due to social distancing mandates and business closures. Ensuring access to pre-ordering for delivery or pick-up to lower-income communities was necessary to promote equitable access to food during the pandemic as these services were largely available to, and adopted by, higher-income individuals [ 5 , 9 , 11 , 17 , 23 ]. Other HROs also reported plans to sustain online ordering for their programs going forward [ 53 ].…”

“…This presented major challenges for lower-income communities and those with limited access to full-service food retail stores, particularly those that offer healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Although fast food consumption dropped slightly overall during the pandemic, higher levels of fastfood consumption were reported among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults [ 23 ]. Additionally, consumer trends of stockpiling goods led to shortages that impacted individuals unable or unwilling to participate in these behaviors, putting lower income individuals at greater risk of not being able to access food in an already strained food retail environment; stockpiling behavior was more often correlated with higher income households [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Associations Between Food Skills and Resilience in Adults Ages 18 to 45 in the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020 April–June): A Brief Report

“…Hunter Food and Beverage Communications polled 1005 US adults in April 2020 and showed that 54% of individuals reported cooking more frequently since the start of the pandemic, a trend that was maintained through December 2020 (FOOD navigator-usa.com, 2021 ). Cohen et al, ( 2022 ) surveyed 1756 low-income US adults in June 2020 and reported that the frequency of eating out fell ~ 80% for individuals accustomed to eating out 2–3 times weekly pre-pandemic.…”

Changes in Food Security, Healthfulness, and Access During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: Results From a National United States Survey

“…COVID-19 disrupted the U.S. food environment in multiple ways. After March 2020, access to amounts and types of food, and food settings, shifted due to supply disruptions, lock-downs, business closures, lost wages and unemployment, and the avoidance of public contacts and spaces [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Many news and non-profit organizations reported increased demand at food pantries, food waste from farming outputs, and restaurant closures.…”

“…Some of these reports characterized worsened healthfulness as snacking, while others asked targeted questions on changes in fruit and vegetable consumption, cooking at home, alcohol consumption, intake of comfort foods, and diet diversity[ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. In the U.S., studies from April-October 2020 asked about specific food choices, often among adults who have overweight or obesity[ 21 ], for food choices such as fast-food[ 5 ], snack foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages[ 22 ]. Other cross-sectional studies, prior to June 2020, attempted to describe changes in energy balance[ 23 ], food category choice[ 24 ], and snacking after dinner[ 25 ].…”