This study assessed changes in household food insecurity throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a cohort of adults in the state of Vermont, USA, and examined the socio-demographic characteristics associated with increased odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic. We conducted three online surveys between March 2020 and March 2021 to collect longitudinal data on food security, use of food assistance programs, and job disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security was measured using the USDA six-item module. Among the 441 respondents, food insecurity rates increased significantly during the pandemic and remained above pre-pandemic levels a year after the start of the pandemic. Nearly a third (31.6%) of respondents experienced food insecurity at some point during the first year of the pandemic, with 53.1% of food-insecure households being classified as newly food-insecure. The odds of experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic varied based on socio-demographic factors. Households with children (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.782–16.936, p < 0.01), women (OR 8.1, 95% CI 1.777–36.647, p < 0.05), BIPOC/Hispanic respondents (OR 11.8, 95% CI 1.615–85.805, p < 0.05), and households experiencing a job disruption (OR 5.0, 95% CI 1.583–16.005, p <0.01) had significantly higher odds of experiencing food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, while respondents with a college degree (OR 0.08; 95% CI 0.025–0.246; p < 0.001) and household income of ≥USD 50,000 (OR 0.01; 95% CI 0.003–0.038; p < 0.001) had lower odds of experiencing food insecurity. These findings indicate that food insecurity continued to be a significant challenge one year after the start of the pandemic, which is important, given the adverse health impacts associated with food insecurity and health disparities among certain socio-demographic groups.

In the United States, the production of many fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) is concentrated in a few key regions of the country, and it may not be possible to maintain or increase output from these areas due to natural resource constraints and climate change. Rather, developing new and more geographically diverse production systems may be necessary to meet food needs and adapt to changing conditions. However, there is currently a limited understanding of the availability and location of suitable land where future production could occur. In this project, we developed geospatial models to identify and quantify land suitable for producing F&V crops across the contiguous United States based on biophysical constraints. Suitability was based on key criteria related to land cover and use, topography, soil properties, and climate. We found tremendous potential to expand F&V production at the national level, identifying 333 million hectares of suitable land, 47% of which is currently used for agriculture. Suitable land to produce most F&Vs exists across the United States, indicating that there is significant potential to geographically diversify production in the future, though tropical and sub‐tropical fruits are restricted to the southern areas of the country. These results provide a starting point for identifying opportunities to expand F&V production, reduce geographic concentration, and establish new supply chains.

Purpose of Review Many people in high-income countries obtain considerable portions of their diets from gardening, hunting, fishing, foraging, and raising animals. Yet food security research in these countries has focused on the roles of commercial and charitable food systems, ignoring non-market food self-provisioning. This review brings together existing evidence to build a holistic understanding of how home and wild food procurement (HWFP) interacts with various dimensions of food security in high-income societies. Recent Findings HWFP impacts food security in multiple ways. It can increase food availability, improve dietary quality, provide access to otherwise unaffordable foods, and support the stability of household food supplies through personal hardships and societal shocks, though further research is needed to substantiate when, where, and how these relationships hold. Engaging in HWFP provides people with agency over their food sources and can contribute to shrinking the ecological consequences of food sourcing. However, researchers have identified numerous food safety risks associated with HWFP, as well as ways in which these practices can threaten the sustainability of food systems. More research is needed regarding HWFP’s potential to contribute to the overall food supplies of high-income countries, during crises as well as in periods of stability. Summary HWFP clearly contributes to food security in high-income countries, but many of the concrete contours of this contribution remain to be revealed. Food security researchers should further account for the effects of HWFP, and scholars studying HWFP activities should consider food security as both a driver and potential consequence of engaging in these practices.

Increased fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption would have important health benefits but would also have significant impacts on the U.S. agricultural system. The United States is currently a net importer of these foods but global agricultural systems face growing pressure to feed more people with fewer resources while also adapting to climate change. Thus, increasing self‐reliance may become a key strategy to ensuring a stable supply of nutrient‐dense foods in the United States. However, the capacity to increase the production of specific foods to accommodate shifts towards healthier dietary patterns or increase self‐reliance is not well documented. We estimated the extent to which the United States could meet current and recommended F&V consumption through domestic production based on biophysical capacity at the national and regional levels. Land suitability maps from a previous study were combined with state‐level yield data to estimate biophysical capacity and food availability data were used to estimate F&V consumption. A net‐balance analysis was conducted to compare production capacity to food consumption under both diet scenarios. Our results indicate that the United States could meet current and recommended F&V needs of Americans through domestic production and that each region could meet regional F&V consumption. However, while self‐reliance is biophysically possible, it would require substantial changes in dietary patterns and land use. These findings provide insight into the feasibility and agricultural implications of self‐reliance at the national and regional levels.

Background: Participation in home and wild food procurement (HWFP) activities (i.e., gardening, hunting, fishing, foraging, preserving food, raising livestock, and raising poultry for eggs) skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Procuring food through HWFP activities may have important food security and nutrition benefits, while also enhancing food sovereignty and food system resilience. This cross-sectional study examined the effect of HWFP activities on food security status, fruit and vegetable intake, and meat consumption. Methods: We used data collected in 2021 and 2022 from adults (n = 2001) through two statewide representative surveys in Maine and Vermont, United States. Dietary intake was assessed using the Dietary Screener Questionnaire. Food security status was assessed using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 6-item short-form food security module. We analyzed the data using linear regression, logistic regression, and ordinal logistic regression models. Results: Sixty-one percent of respondents engaged in HWFP activities; the majority of those gardened. Households engaging in most individual HWFP activities had greater odds of being food insecure. HWFP engagement was positively associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. Specifically, gardening was associated with an additional one cup-equivalent in fruit and vegetable consumption per week compared to respondents that did not garden. Furthermore, when exploring these relationships disaggregated by food security status, we find that this effect is stronger for food insecure households than food secure households. Respondents from households that hunted were more likely to eat wild game meat and also consumed red and white meat more frequently compared to households that did not hunt. Conclusions: Overall, our results indicate potential nutrition and food security benefits from engaging in HWFP activities. Future research should continue to examine a full suite of HWFP activities and their relationship to diet, health, food security, and food sovereignty.