Unemployment insurance, stimulus tied to less food insecurity Unemployment insurance was tied to a food insecurity reduction of 4.3 percentage points and a reduction in the need to eat less because of financial constraints of 5.7 percentage points during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a JAMA Network Open study published late last week. The researchers looked at 1,119 Understanding Coronavirus in America survey respondents who lived in households with income less than $75,000 and who lost their job during the pandemic. Overall, 37.1% of respondents reported food insecurity and 39.1% said they were eating less due to financial issues at least once during the survey's 15 waves. But unemployment insurance was associated with 35.0% and 47.9% relative reductions, respectively, or 4.3- and 5.7-percentage-point reductions, respectively (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 6.9 and 3.0 to 8.4).