Household Food Security in the United States, 2008
by
Mark Nord,
Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-83) 66 pp, November 2009
Most U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to
enough food for active, healthy living-they are food secure. But a
minority of American households experience food insecurity at times
during the year, meaning that their access to adequate food is
limited by a lack of money and other resources. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) monitors the extent and severity of food
insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nationally
representative survey and has published statistical reports on
household food security in the United States for each year since
1995. This report presents statistics on households' food security,
food expenditures, and use of food and nutrition assistance
programs in 2008.
What Is the Issue?
USDA's domestic food and nutrition assistance programs increase
food security by providing low-income households access to food, a
healthful diet, and nutrition education. Reliable monitoring of
food security contributes to the effective operation of these
programs as well as private food assistance programs and other
government initiatives aimed at reducing food insecurity. This
annual food security report provides statistics that guide planning
for Federal, State, and community food assistance programs.
What Did the Study Find?
In 2008, 85.4 percent of U.S. households were food secure
throughout the year. Food-secure households had consistent access
to enough food for active healthy lives for all household members
at all times during the year. The remaining 14.6 percent (17
million households) were food insecure. These households, at some
time during the year, had diffi culty providing enough food for all
their members due to a lack of resources. The prevalence of food
insecurity was up from 11.1 percent (13 million households) in 2007
and was the highest observed since nationally representative food
security surveys were initiated in 1995.
About one-third of food-insecure households (6.7 million
households, or 5.7 percent of all U.S. households) had very low
food security, up from 4.7 million households (4.1 percent) in
2007, and the highest level observed since nationally
representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995. In
households with very low food security, the food intake of some
household members was reduced, and their normal eating patterns
were disrupted because of the household's food insecurity. The
other two-thirds of food-insecure households obtained enough food
to avoid substantial disruptions in eating patterns and food
intake, using a variety of coping strategies, such as eating less
varied diets, participating in Federal food and nutrition
assistance programs, or obtaining emergency food from community
food pantries or emergency kitchens.
Even when resources are inadequate to provide food for the
entire family, children are usually shielded from the disrupted
eating patterns and reduced food intake that characterize very low
food security. However, children as well as adults experienced
instances of very low food security in 506,000 households (1.3
percent of households with children) in 2008, up from 323,000
households (0.8 percent of households with children) in 2007.
On a given day, the number of households with very low food
security was a small fraction of the number that experienced this
condition "at some time during the year." Typically, households
classifi ed as having very low food security experienced the
condition in 7 or 8 months of the year, for a few days in each of
those months. On an average day in late November or early December,
2008, for example, an estimated 1.1 million to 1.4 million
households (0.9-1.2 percent of all U.S. households) had members who
experienced very low food security, and children experienced these
conditions in 86,000 to 111,000 households (0.22 to 0.28 percent of
all U.S. households with children).
The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among
different types of households. Rates of food insecurity were
substantially higher than the national average for households with
incomes near or below the Federal poverty line, households with
children headed by single women or single men, and Black and
Hispanic households. Food insecurity was more common in large
cities and rural areas than in suburban areas and other outlying
areas around large cities. Regionally, food insecurity was most
prevalent in the South, intermediate in the Midwest and West, and
least prevalent in the Northeast.
Food-secure households spent more for food than food-insecure
households. In 2008, the median U.S. household spent $43.75 per
person for food each week-about 14 percent more than the cost of
USDA's Thrifty Food Plan (a low-cost food "market basket" that
meets dietary standards, taking into account household size and the
age and gender of household members). The median food-secure
household spent 18 percent more than the cost of the Thrifty Food
Plan, while the median food-insecure household spent 10 percent
less than the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan.
Some food-insecure households turn to Federal food and nutrition
assistance programs or emergency food providers in their
communities when they are unable to obtain enough food. Fifty-fi ve
percent of the food-insecure households surveyed in 2008 said that
in the previous month they had participated in one or more of the
three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs-the
National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, the new name for the Food Stamp Program), and
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC). About 20 percent of food-insecure households
obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the
year, and 2.6 percent ate one or more meals at an emergency kitchen
in their community.
How Was the Study Conducted?
Data for the ERS food security reports come from an annual
survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the
monthly Current Population Survey. USDA sponsors the annual survey,
and USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) compiles and analyzes
the responses. The 2008 food security survey covered about 44,000
households comprising a representative sample of the U.S. civilian
population of 118 million households. The food security survey
asked one adult respondent in each household a series of questions
about experiences and behaviors that indicate food insecurity. The
food security status of the household was assessed based on the
number of food-insecure conditions reported (such as being unable
to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals because of too
little money for food, or being hungry because of too little money
for food). Households with very low food security among children
were identifi ed by responses to a subset of questions about the
conditions and experiences of children. Survey respondents also
reported the amounts their households had spent on food and whether
they had used public or private food and nutrition assistance
programs.