Penn study finds jump in food insufficiency after pandemic-era SNAP benefits end

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of access to enough nutritious food. In Philadelphia alone, about 14% of people struggle to buy or afford healthy produce and groceries, according to Feeding America.

“It can involve hunger at times, but it’s really that unstable access to food that’s of adequate quality or quantity,” Richterman, instructor of medicine at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine, said.

Food insufficiency is a more extreme category of food insecurity, where individuals and families may not have enough food to eat at all.

The Penn study, published in JAMA Health Forum, looked at data from 3 million survey participants across the U.S. and people who rely on food stamps.

Richterman said the return of higher food insecurity and insufficiency rates are concerning given that they can lead to poor health outcomes, especially when chronic illness may take a backseat to more immediate needs like hunger and daily meals.

“People are who are facing and struggling with food insecurity may be less likely to take their medications,” he said. “They may be less likely to pay attention to certain symptoms that they’re having that could be important and consequential. They may be less likely to attend their doctor’s appointments and things like that.”