For Asian American households, fear of leaving their homes worsened their food insecurity

Food insecurity has plagued millions of people the past year and a half, a crisis borne out by thousands of cars lining up at food banks during the early pandemic. But the reasons why people have not had enough to eat have varied across racial groups. An analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau found that of the 77,000 respondents to a survey in late March, Asian American households were more than twice as likely as white respondents to cite concerns about leaving their homes to get food as a reason they didn’t have enough to eat, LAist reports. While Asian American households were almost certainly concerned about contracting the coronavirus while out getting groceries, Census analysts suggested that they were also plagued by fears surrounding the nationwide surge in anti-Asian violence in the wake of the pandemic, a shift that for some recalls the United States’ history of racism against Asian Americans.