Start Date: July 2022

ID #: 283-5103

Principal Investigator: Di Fang, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator: Michael Thomsen, PhD

Organization: University of Florida Board of Trustees

Funding Round: 2021 Special Solicitation on COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Recovery Efforts

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Food price inflation is an adverse outcome of COVID-19 that makes nutrition security more difficult for low-income families with children. School closures and pandemic-related assistance programs placed additional strains on the retail food system, which may have further amplified inflationary pressure on the cost of foods needed to support a healthy diet. The goal of this study is to provide insight into food price increases and how they are affecting the affordability of a nutritionally balanced diet. Using a longitudinal design that involves statistical modeling of food costs across geography and over time, the specific aim of the project is to measure and assess disparities in food-price inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) as a benchmark. The study uses store-level scanner data from across the United States providing volume and dollar sales for thousands of individual grocery items. It also makes use of a nationally-representative consumer panel to better understand disparities in the cost of the TFP.

Start Date: 6/15/2022

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