COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity among U.S. older adults

According to MedPage Today (1/10, Frieden), the COVID-19 pandemic has “exacerbated existing trends in food insecurity” among older adults in the U.S. Before the pandemic, “food insecurity – generally defined as a lack of access to a sufficient amount of nutritious foods – was an issue in” this country, “a survey of about 2,000 older adults in 2020” found. While “the federal government addressed the general issue of food insecurity during the pandemic in part by expanding access to food programs…as well as expanding the dollar value of available benefits,” many older adults were simply unaware of such programs and benefits. Clinicians can use the “two-item Hunger Vital Sign” tool (PDF) to screen for food insecurity, and “the AARP Foundation and the Food Research & Action Center have developed a free “Screen and Intervene” one-credit continuing medical education course that” clinicians “can take to learn about how to screen for food insecurity in their patients.”