The Rent Eats First: A Multi-Methods Study of Emergency Rental Assistance and Food Insecurity

Start Date: June 2023

ID #: 283-5108

Principal Investigator: Eliana Perrin, MD, MPH, and Kathryn Leifheit, PhD, MSPH

Organization: Johns Hopkins University

Funding Round: ARPA2

See more related research

Share

Forty-six billion dollars in Federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) during the COVID-19 pandemic may have bolstered food budgets by alleviating housing costs, yet impacts on household food insecurity (FI) and other health outcomes are unknown. This study will investigate to what extent ERA programs led to reductions in household FI or other key improvements such as caregiver mental health and child preventative care. This study will also test for differential impacts by race and ethnicity, and will elicit narratives on the experience of securing ERA and the impacts of ERA on FI, dietary practices, caregiver mental and phyiscal health, and child preventative care.

Age Groups: Adolescents (grades 9 to 12), Adults and Families, Elementary-age children (grades K to 5), Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5), Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8)

States: California, Maryland, National

Keywords: Diet quality/dietary assessment, Equity and disparities, Food insecurity, Housing, Law/policy, Poverty & economic well-being, Rural, Urban

Focus Areas: Food Access, Healthy Communities

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Related Research

August 2026

Understanding Ultra-processed Foods

Most foods we eat undergo some form of processing, but some foods are more heavily processed than others. This resource explains what ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are, how they differ from other types of processed foods, and what research says about their potential health impacts. It also offers practical tips to help people identify UPFs and More

May 2026

Ultraprocessed Foods in the U.S.: Recommended Definitions and Policies

Despite growing interest in ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), there is not consensus on how to define UPFs for policy purposes. To meet this need, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel to develop evidence-informed recommendations for policymakers and advocates interested in advancing policies to limit UPF exposure and consumption at the local, state, and federal levels. More

April 2026

Identifying barriers and facilitators of the implementation of nutrition guidelines in food banks using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

This qualitative study used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to systematically identify the barriers and facilitators to implementing the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System (HER Guidelines) in a national sample of U.S. food banks. In-depth interviews were conducted among a random sample of food banks that reported implementing More