Preparing for the worst? Household food stockpiling during the second wave of covid-19 in serbia
Author | Ben Hassen, Tarek |
Author | El Bilali, Hamid |
Author | Allahyari, Mohammad S. |
Author | Berjan, Sinisa |
Author | Karabašević, Darjan |
Author | Radosavac, Adriana |
Author | Dašić, Goran |
Author | Đervida, Ružica |
Available date | 2024-04-23T05:38:48Z |
Publication Date | 2021 |
Publication Name | Sustainability (Switzerland) |
Resource | Scopus |
ISSN | 20711050 |
Abstract | Stockpiling and panic buying are significant components of crisis-and disaster-related consumption behaviors that have gained significant media coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to analyze the features of stockpiling behavior during the second wave of COVID-19 in Serbia based on a structured online questionnaire. This study seeks to answer two questions. First, what factors triggered and affected stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia? Second, how does stockpiling affect other food habits and diets? A total of 851 valid responses were received. The results highlight several features of the stockpiling behavior in Serbia. First, food stockpiling behavior is influenced by some sociodemographic variables such as gender and household composition. Second, stockpiling was fueled by several negative emotions such as fear, sadness, and depression. Third, the results confirm that stockpiling in Serbia was not triggered by supply shortages but rather by consumers' concerns of obtaining enough food and rising food prices. Finally, food stockpiling was associated with some positive changes such as eating out less (e.g., restaurants/cafeteria), eating more with their family members, and cooking more food. Analyzing and comprehending consumer food stockpiling patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic may offer policymakers imperative information for adjusting supply and response strategies during future crises. |
Sponsor | This study is part of the international research project "Consumer Agency, Food Consumption Behavior, and the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak" sponsored by the Food Industry Research and Education Center (FIRE) at Western Michigan University [65]. The Western Michigan University Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (HSIRB) approved all research survey procedures. The Food Consumption Changes 2020 survey of West Michigan University [65] and the COVID-19 Survey of the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN) [66] informed the questionnaire used in the online survey. The same survey, based on the same questionnaire, was conducted in several countries in the Middle East region, such as Qatar [67], Morocco [14], and Lebanon [13], and in Europe, such as Russia [68] and Bosnia [69]. |
Language | en |
Publisher | MDPI |
Subject | Balkans COVID-19 Food consumption Food shopping Panic buying Serbia Stockpiling |
Type | Article |
Issue Number | 20 |
Volume Number | 13 |
Files in this item
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
COVID-19 Research [799 items ]
-
International Affairs [160 items ]