Disparities in Food Access and Food Insecurity Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) Americans (DSI-SRP)
This DSI-SRP fellowship funded Emilio Loret de Mola to work in the laboratory of Professor Gilbert Gonzales in the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society during the summer of 2020. Emilio graduated in 2020 with majors in Anthropology and Medicine, Health, and Society.
The project funded by this fellowship aimed to understand disparities in food access and food insecurity among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emilio worked on a quantitative research project that assessed food insecurity and food assistance program enrollment among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Americans in response to the USDA’s recent rule amendment for SNAP. Along with his research mentor, Professor Gonzales, Emilio found that approximately 1.7 million LGBT adults were vulnerable to job loss during COVID-19 lockdowns (published in the Annals of LGBTQ Public & Population Health). He also learned that gay and lesbian able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) were 2x as likely to be enrolled in SNAP compared to heterosexual ABAWD (presented at both IAPHS and APHA annual conferences in 2020). Emilio also worked on a COVID-19 project that sought to better understand LGBTQ college student health and well-being during the pandemic. His research through this project found that 22% of LGBTQ college students were food insecure during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (now under review at the Journal of American College Health).
In addition to receiving support through a DSI-SRP fellowship, this project was supported and facilitated by the DSI Data Science Team through their regular summer workshops and demo sessions.