The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns may have worsened worries over food insecurity among many Canadians and negatively impacted their mental health, according to a nationwide survey conducted during the first wave.

People who were younger or who had household incomes below $50,000 were more likely to worry about having enough food to meet their household needs, claims researcher Dr. Corey McAuliffe, a postdoctoral fellow at University of British Columbia’s school of nursing in the faculty of applied science.

Indigenous participants, people who had pre-existing mental health conditions, a disability, or who had children under 18 living at home were also more likely to feel concerned about their food supply.

“Food worry was already a concern before the pandemic, as 13 per cent of Canadian households felt a degree of food insecurity pre-pandemic,” said Dr McAuliffe.

“When the pandemic hit, multiple issues collided and elevated those worries significantly. Shopping for groceries became stressful—we were uncertain about how the virus was transmitted. We wondered how to effectively sanitize our groceries. There were shortages of critical staples like flour and rice and even bread,” she added.

And the more people worried about their food supply, the worse their mental health was.

“People who felt food worry were almost two times more likely to report worsened mental health compared to those who didn’t have this concern,” said Dr McAuliffe. “They had higher odds of feeling anxious or depressed. Even more concerning, they had more than triple the odds of experiencing suicidal thoughts.”

It’s important to understand that the link between food security and mental health is a crucial one, added Dr Jennifer Black, one of the paper’s authors and an expert on food, nutrition and health who teaches in the faculty of land and food systems at UBC.

“This study echoes a growing body of evidence that clearly shows that far too many Canadians worry that they don’t have stable access to enough food to meet their household’s basic needs. It also reflects the important overlaps between several of our most pressing public health challenges including poverty, inadequate and inequitable access to food, and poor mental health,” she said.

For their next step, the researchers will be considering how food-related worries and dietary practices were impacted during and following the pandemic.

“Our research and advocacy efforts need to continue to seek out more effective strategies to make sure that everyone has physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. This is the time to ask our leaders about how they are going to ensure that all Canadians have both enough income and access to the basic necessities of life, which this research reminds us is essential for physical and mental wellbeing,” concluded Dr Black.