Food Security Effects of COVID‐19 Lockdown: Causal Pathways and Vulnerability

ABSTRACT In response to the COVID‐19 outbreak, governments implemented stringent social and economic lockdowns. This study analyzed how the lockdown affected food security dimensions and the factors that influenced these effects. Food security dimensions—availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability—were measured through participation in farming, the number of daily meals, the dietary diversity index, and changes in earnings, respectively. Using questionnaire‐generated data collected from a sample of 476 respondents drawn through stratified sampling, inferential statistics and regression models were estimated. The findings revealed that while lockdowns positively influenced food availability due to increased farming participation, they had negative effects on food accessibility, stability, and utilization, as indicated by a decrease in daily meals, earnings, and the dietary diversity index. The index reduced because consumption shifted from expensive high‐quality to cheaper low‐quality foods. While food availability was positively associated with rural and farm households, limited food accessibility and poor food utilisation were more prevalent among urban and economically insecure households. The results highlight the need for addressing both the health and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic while considering vulnerability in the response. There is also a need for a long‐term assessment of the lockdown's effects on food security and comparisons across countries.