Viewing entries tagged
Maine

National Food Access and COVID Research Team publishes two Maine research briefs

National Food Access and COVID Research Team publishes two Maine research briefs

University of Maine researchers, Rachel Schattman and Kate Yerxa, have released initial findings from research conducted as part of the National Food Access and COVID Research Team (NFACT). NFACT is a national collaboration of researchers committed to rigorous, comparative, and timely food access research during the time of COVID-19. We do this through collaborative, open access research that prioritizes communication to key decision-makers while building our scientific understanding of food system behaviors and policies.

Through surveying Maine residents in the months after COVID-19 emerged in Maine (March 2020), Schattman and Yerxa found that COVID-19 has increased the incidence of food insecurity for survey respondents of all ages, but that younger respondents (ages 18-24) were more likely than older adults to skip meals, eat less, or go hungry. Meanwhile, adults ages 35-54 were more likely to report traveling to food pantries or federal food assistance program offices to deal with food insecurity. Respondents reported dietary changes following the onset of COVID-19, including a reduction in consumption of red and processed meats.

These findings and more have been summarized in two research briefs, which are now available:

The Maine NFACT survey was repeated in spring 2021, and will be reissued in coming months. This will allow Schattman, Yerxa, and their collaborators to examine changes in food insecurity throughout the pandemic.

Funding for this project was provided by the University of Maine School of Food and Agriculture, the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, the Maine Food and Agriculture Center Integrated Research Extension Program, and the University of Vermont Gund Institute for the Environment.

To learn more visit https://www.nfactresearch.org/

Food insecurity before and since COVID-19

Food insecurity before and since COVID-19

The University of Maine has partnered with the National Food Access and COVID Research Team (NFACT) to document the effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity in Maine and across the United States. Project collaborators include Dr. Rachel Schattman (lead of the UMaine Agroecology Lab) and Kate Yerxa (Associate Extension Professor and EFNEP Coordinator with UMaine Extension).

The NFACT coalition has conducted common surveys across 18-study sites in more than 15-states and nationally. Today, the coalition is releasing the first collective policy brief, summarizing data from more than 26,000 respondents, across 22 separate surveys in these sites over the past year.  Despite different geographic and social contexts, the coalition finds very similar results in nearly all sites. These findings included higher prevalence of food insecurity since COVID-19, and higher prevalence of food insecurity than the general population for BIPOC respondents, households with children, and those experiencing a job disruption (furlough, job loss, or reduced hours). The new brief is now available here.

In coming months, Schattman and Yerxa will release a series of research briefs detailing the results of the Maine NFACT study. Initial results show that food insecurity in Maine has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 25.2% of survey respondents report experiencing food insecurity before the pandemic began, and 34.1% reported experiencing food insecurity since. Among BIPOC Maine residents, this trend was even more concerning: 46.2% of BIPOC respondents reported food insecurity before and 56.4% reported food insecurity since the pandemic started. Households with children under the age of 18 years also reported food insecurity at higher rates than the general population: 44.3% of respondents with children in the household reported food insecurity before and 52.6% since the beginning of COVID-19. Forty-five percent of respondents who reported job disruptions also reported being food insecure in 2020, with those who experienced job lost being most affected.

Schattman and Yerxa are partnering with colleagues at the University of Vermont to repeat the NFACT survey in both Maine and Vermont, allowing the team to track the effects of COVID-19 on food insecurity over time. This work is being supported by an award from the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for the Environment Catalyst Program, and is led by Dr. Meredith Niles. Collaborators include Drs. Jennifer Laurent, Emily Belarmino, Farryl Bertmann, Scott Merrill, Eric Clark, and Ph.D. student Sam Bliss.

Sara Kelemen works with the UMaine Mitchell Center to assess equity of Maine’s climate strategies

Sara Kelemen works with the UMaine Mitchell Center to assess equity of Maine’s climate strategies

Sustainability experts from the University of Maine will advise a governor’s council on how efforts to combat climate change could support historically underrepresented populations in the state.

The Maine Climate Council tapped the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions to assist with its efforts to improve equity outcomes of the state Climate Action Plan. 

The center will provide expertise to the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to help determine how the Climate Council’s strategies for reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate change can benefit under served residents and communities. 

The Mitchell Center’s work complements the Climate Council’s establishment of a new equity advisory group, which will offer ongoing guidance and input on the creation of the four-year Climate Action Plan. 

Climate change affects the various populations in Maine in different and unequal ways, says Linda Silka, a Mitchell Center senior fellow. To help all Mainers, officials can focus on reducing the disproportionate effects of climate change on lower-income and rural populations, older adults, tribal communities, persons of color and other underrepresented groups.  

“Our responsibility is to look at equity issues in a clear, systematic and well-informed way,” Silka says. “It’s a wonderful way to say, ‘We’re not the kind of state that’s good for some people. We want it to be good for everyone.’”

Silka will join David Hart, director of the Mitchell Center; Sara Kelemen, a graduate student of plant, soil, and environmental science; and other partners to evaluate climate action proposals from the Climate Council’s working groups for their ability to achieve equity and foster diversity and inclusion. They also will recommend ways to improve how any particular strategy can support the various underserved populations in Maine. 

As state officials solicit citizen feedback on climate action strategies, the Mitchell Center also will advise them on how to connect with underrepresented communities across the state, including groups that may be unaware of the Climate Council’s work, residents without internet access and others. 

“We want the process to be as inclusive as possible,” Hart says. “But that’s not easy — especially during a pandemic — so we’ll be looking for creative ways to ensure that the Climate Council’s work benefits from diverse voices and expertise.” 

In late August, the Mitchell Center will provide a report summarizing its findings and recommendations to the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.

“Addressing the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on Maine people is a priority of the Maine Climate Council,” says Hannah Pingree, co-chair of the Climate Council and director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. “We are excited to work with the Mitchell Center to ensure historically underrepresented populations have a voice in determining Maine’s climate future.”

The center’s ability to bring together diverse expertise from inside and outside of UMaine, dedication to public service, and long-standing partnerships with historically underserved populations suit it for the task of advancing the equity goals of the Climate Action Plan, says Hart. 

“Developing solutions to climate change problems will take many different kinds of knowledge and know-how,” Hart says. “We have to find ways to work together when we’re trying to address a challenge that has so many moving parts.” 

UMaine professor Ivan Fernandez serves on the Maine Climate Council, and is co-chair of the Science and Technical Subcommittee. Numerous other experts from UMaine and University of Maine at Machias serve on the Science and Technical Subcommittee, as well as working groups.

Press release written by Marcus Wolf, marcus.wolf@maine.edu

Sara Kelemen photo.jpg

Sara Kelemen is an incoming graduate student in the UMaine Agroecology Lab.