We also note that national surveys using the HFSSM also typically ask about experiences over a 12-month reference period, and our first food worry estimate only referenced food worry in the past two weeks. However, we note that the Food Banks Canada survey was administered at a later date compared to our survey, and that Food Banks Canada utilized a different sampling strategy, based on automated phone interviews. Respondents were more likely to report food bank usage if they experienced food worry, even after adjusting for household income. Furthermore, while most food bank users report more severe and protracted forms of food insecurity, there is little evidence that longer duration or higher frequency of food bank usage substantively diminishes the severity or stress related to food insecurity for most users [54, 83,84,85]. We are also unable to draw any specific conclusions here about how specific COVID-19 related policy changes or food program challenges buffered or exacerbated experiences of food worry or food program usage.
