The impact of the Canadian emergency response benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of household food insecurity in Canada

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced to mitigate the impact of sudden mass unemployment. To date, no study has examined the association of CERB and the prevalence of food insecurity (FI). Objectives: To determine if the introduction of CERB reduced the prevalence of FI in Canada using a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis of Canadian Income Survey (CIS) data, and subgroups of interest: female-led lone parent households and households living in poverty. Methods: CIS cycles 2018-2020 linked to CERB (weighted n=27,535,068) were used. A DID analysis estimated the association between CERB receipt and the log odds of FI. Results: Levels of FI were maintained in CERB-recipient households and decreased in non-CERB recipients. CERB receipt modified the relationship with FI between CERB and non-CERB households (0.145, p= 0.034). Conclusion: This study shows that despite mass unemployment, no increases occurred in FI among unemployed CERB recipient households.