Social support and loneliness in black women experiencing COVID-19 food insecurity

Historically, poverty and racial discrimination have been linked to food insecurity among the Black population, especially among older Black women. Food insecurity also has been linked to social support and loneliness, the latter of which has been exacerbated by conditions experienced during the COVID 19 pandemic. A lack of research about the relationship between social support, loneliness, and food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic among Black women who are food insecure prompted this study. The purpose of this study was to fill that gap in the literature. The two research questions developed for this study were focused on the relationships between the independent variables social support (emotional and instrumental), loneliness, and age and the dependent variable food insecurity and the capacity of the independent variables to predict the dependent variable. The data showed that instrumental support was a negative predictor of food insecurity whereas higher degrees of instrumental support were predictive of higher rates of food insecurity. The data also showed a significant negative correlation between age and food insecurity. Specifically, senior women reported less food insecurity than younger, nonsenior women. The introduction of a food insecurity screening protocol is indicated for Black women ages 45–64 living in Houston, Texas who are at various points along the food security/insecurity continuum.