The COVID-19 crisis has led to spiking unemployment rates with disproportionate impacts on low-income families. School and child-care center closures have also meant lost free and reduced-price school meals. Food prices have increased sharply, leading to reduced purchasing power for families with limited income. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act constituted a robust response, including expansions to unemployment insurance (expansions in eligibility and a $600 per week supplement), a onetime payment of $1,200 per adult and $500 per dependent, an increase in SNAP payments, and the launch of the Pandemic EBT program to replace lost school meals. Despite these efforts, real-time data show significant distress—notably, food insecurity rates have increased almost three times over the pre-COVID-19 rates and food pantry use has also spiked. In this paper, we explore why there is so much unmet need despite a robust policy response. We provide evidence for three explanations: (1) timing—relief came with a substantial delay, due to overwhelmed unemployment insurance (UI) systems and the need to implement new programs; (2) magnitude—payments outside UI are modest; and (3) coverage gaps—access is lower for some groups, and other groups are statutorily excluded.

COVID-19危机导致失业率飙升，对低收入家庭的影响不成比例。学校和儿童保育中心的关闭也意味着失去了免费的和低价的学校餐食。粮食价格急剧上涨，导致收入有限家庭的购买力下降。《家庭第一份冠状病毒应对法》和《冠状病毒援助，救济与经济安全法》构成了强有力的应对措施，包括扩大了失业保险（扩大资格和每周600美元的补助金），一次性支付每位成人1200美元和每位受抚养者500美元，增加了SNAP付款，并启动了大流行EBT计划以弥补丢失的学校餐食。尽管做出了这些努力，但实时数据仍显示出很大的麻烦-尤其是，粮食不安全率比COVID-19以前的水平几乎提高了三倍，食品储藏室的使用也猛增。在本文中，我们探讨了尽管采取了有力的政策应对措施，但仍然有如此多的需求缺口。我们为以下三种解释提供证据：（1）时间安排—由于失业保险（UI）系统不堪重负以及实施新计划的需要，救济时间大大延迟。（2）金额-使用者介面以外的付款金额不高；（3）覆盖差距—一些群体的访问率较低，而其他群体在法律上被排除在外。由于不堪重负的失业保险（UI）系统以及实施新计划的需要；（2）幅度-用户界面外部的付款金额不高；（3）覆盖差距—一些群体的访问率较低，而其他群体在法律上被排除在外。由于不堪重负的失业保险（UI）系统以及实施新计划的需要；（2）幅度-用户界面外部的付款金额不高；（3）覆盖差距—一些群体的访问率较低，而其他群体在法律上被排除在外。