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Nutrients
Special Issues
Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters and Conflicts
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Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters and Conflicts

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 5979

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christina Pollard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Interests: public health; food insecurity; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sue Booth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5001, Australia
Interests: food insecurity; charitable food systems; public health nutrition policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Flora Douglas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
Interests: household food insecurity; infant; public health; health inequalities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies) increases the risk of preventable diet-related diseases and significantly impacts public health. The FAO and the UN report that “several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030” here. The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and conflicts have exposed cracks in the food system and increased the likelihood of food insecurity and other nutrition challenges.

Food assistance is a well-accepted emergency response intervention with people often requiring ongoing support to ameliorate food insecurity. Delivered in many forms, models, and contexts, there is a need to understand the approaches that work best, the challenges to effective intervention, and their impact on nutrition and health. 

We invite papers that explore the following interconnecting themes:

  • Food assistance in response to disaster (e.g., COVID-19, natural disaster, war, humanitarian crisis);
  • Food assistance to address episodic or chronic food insecurity during COVID-19;
  • Health or other interventions (including policies) to address malnutrition in all its forms;
  • Nutrition guidance for disaster management or food assistance;
  • Reflections on how to better address food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition (including in the healthcare setting);
  • Measuring and monitoring food assistance outcomes (e.g., effectiveness, equity, and efficiency).

As Guest Editors of this Special Issue on “Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters, and Conflicts”, we invite you to submit a manuscript to Nutrients to improve our knowledge regarding issues, priorities, and interventions to address all forms of malnutrition related to food insecurity. Original research (qualitative and quantitative), systematic and meta-analyses, and narrative reviews are welcome.

Dr. Christina Pollard
Dr. Sue Booth
Prof. Dr. Flora Douglas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food assistance
  • food insecurity
  • health
  • malnutrition
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • disasters

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 430 KiB  
Article
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Experiences and Operations of Sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program in Maryland, USA: A Multiphase Mixed Methods Study
by Stacy V. Lu, Kaitlyn M. Harper, Yoyo Ding, Jordan Everett, Julia Gross, Rachael Borman, Karen Medina-Perez, Brielle Pinzini, Michael J. Wilson and Susan M. Gross
Nutrients 2023, 15(7), 1628; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15071628 - 27 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1179
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was allowed to operate in untraditional non-summer months to ensure children did not lose access to free and reduced-priced nutritious meals when schools were mandated to close in the United States. This study [...] Read more.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was allowed to operate in untraditional non-summer months to ensure children did not lose access to free and reduced-priced nutritious meals when schools were mandated to close in the United States. This study assessed the impact of the pandemic on the operations and experiences of Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors in the state of Maryland during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Phase I) and 2021 (Phase II). This study used a multiphase explanatory sequential mixed methods design with qualitative prioritization. Maryland SFSP sponsors completed an online survey (Phase I: n = 27, Phase II: n = 30), and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of sponsors who completed the survey (Phase I: n = 12, Phase II: n = 7). Inductive and deductive analyses were used for qualitative data, and descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data. The COVID-19 pandemic caused SFSP sponsors to change their operations. Sponsors were primarily concerned about staff safety/burnout and decreased participation. Sponsors perceived waivers implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture to be crucial in enabling them to serve meals to children during the pandemic. The findings from our study support advocacy efforts to permanently implement waivers and provide free school meals for all children. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters and Conflicts)
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14 pages, 1504 KiB  
Article
Understanding the Role of CalFresh Participation and Food Insecurity on Academic Outcomes among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Brittany M. Loofbourrow, Anna M. Jones, Suzanna M. Martinez, Leslie C. Kemp, Gretchen L. George and Rachel E. Scherr
Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040898 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2451
Abstract
Food insecurity (FI) is associated with many adverse outcomes in college students. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as CalFresh in California) has been observed to alleviate FI; however, on college campuses, the benefits of food assistance programs are not well understood. [...] Read more.
Food insecurity (FI) is associated with many adverse outcomes in college students. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as CalFresh in California) has been observed to alleviate FI; however, on college campuses, the benefits of food assistance programs are not well understood. This study investigated whether college students benefit from CalFresh participation. It was hypothesized that students would experience increased FI over time and that CalFresh participation would moderate the effect of FI on grade point average (GPA). A comprehensive FI and CalFresh questionnaires were distributed during the 2020–2021 academic year to 849 students. The chi-square test of independence assessed differences between FI and student factors. A Friedman test assessed differences in FI during the three quarters. Moderation analysis assessed whether CalFresh participation moderated FI’s effect on GPA. Differences were observed among food security scores in Winter 2021 (median = 1.69) and Fall 2020 (median = 2.14; p = 0.013) and Spring 2020 (median = 2.17; p = 0.009). In the moderation model, the interaction of FI score and CalFresh participation was positively correlated with GPA (B = 0.11; p = 0.002). These results indicate that SNAP/CalFresh participation was particularly beneficial for mitigating the negative effects of FI on GPA. Given these benefits, encouraging SNAP/CalFresh enrollment should be a priority for university administrators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters and Conflicts)
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10 pages, 253 KiB  
Article
Perceptions and Patterns of Dietary Supplements’ Use during COVID-19 among Undergraduate Female Students in Saudi Arabia
by Wafa Hamad Almegewly, Rimah Bader Alenazi, Fayhaa Mohammed Albaqami, Raghad Abdulkarim Alkharashi, Fatimah Abdulrhman Alsaedi, Reem Khalaf Almutairi, Alhanouf Abdullah Alkharji, Ghadeer Mohammed Althani and Wafa Abdullah Aljuwayd
Nutrients 2022, 14(18), 3728; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183728 - 09 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1717
Abstract
(1) Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of Dietary Supplements (DSs) has increased for health promotion purposes. Few data records were found on the safe use of DSs among university students in Saudi Arabia, during COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the [...] Read more.
(1) Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of Dietary Supplements (DSs) has increased for health promotion purposes. Few data records were found on the safe use of DSs among university students in Saudi Arabia, during COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the perceptions and patterns of DSs during COVID-19 among students at a selected female university. (2) Methods: A descriptive cross-section design was used. A convenient sample of undergraduate students (n = 651) were recruited via email, to fill in an online validated questionnaire: The nutrition and intake of DSs during COVID-19. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. (3) Results: Among the 509 students who did not have chronic diseases, 85% of them had taken DSs. About 35.5% of the students had not changed their dietary habits since the beginning of COVID-19, but 78.6% thought that they needed to improve their immunity by taking DSs. Half of the students 51.2% believed that healthy habits may reduce the chance of being infected with COVID-19. The most used DSs were vitamin C (84.3%), followed by honey (65.3%), and vitamin D (47.7%). At the top of students’ references for DSs was personal judgment or previous knowledge of the benefits (27.3%). (4) Conclusion: The usage and patterns of DSs were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking DSs without a doctor’s prescription may lead to several complications. DSs users should be educated effectively about the proper use of DSs as an external supplementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Natural Disasters and Conflicts)
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