Doctoral Dissertation Research: The effects of COVID-19 on food choice and well-being

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

Crises force people to adjust to novel circumstances in ways known to affect behavior, health, and well-being. Nutritional considerations are a critical component of adjustment to crises as individual and community circumstances change in ways that affect food availability and other costs and benefits relevant to food choice. This is particularly true in the context of COVID-19, which has affected not only personal circumstances (e.g., income), but also food supply chains, costs, and so on.

This doctoral dissertation research investigates how people adjust food choice to crisis in the context of the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic. It tests anthropological theories of resilience and disaster to investigate whether and how people change dietary habits to alleviate the stresses associated with ongoing crisis. In addition to training a first-generation doctoral student in anthropology, the research will be disseminated widely, including to local communities and stakeholders.

Specifically, this research proposes a biocultural theoretical lens to investigate 1) food access, preferences, and choices; 2) the use of food in response to stress; and 3) the effects of related decisions on human biology and health. The doctoral student will conduct surveys, gather data on food consumption and diet-related activities, and collect biological measurements (hemoglobin levels, height, weight, body fat percentage) to achieve these research aims.

The study will be conducted in communities that have been variably affected by COVID-19 in terms of maintenance of personal and household income and community-wide food availability. Findings from this research will provide a broader understanding of how crises change behavior and health via its holistic investigation of food choice as a critical mediator of stress and health outcomes.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.