Food insecurity increases slightly between 1999 and 2001

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December 2002

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Food insecurity increases slightly between 1999 and 2001

The prevalence of food insecurity and hunger increased somewhat from 1999 to 2001 after having declined from 1995 to 1999, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The most recent federal food security survey reports that 10.7 percent of U.S. all households (or 11.5 million households) were food insecure. That means that at some time during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources.

About one-third of food-insecure households (3.5 million, or 3.3 percent of all U.S. households) were food insecure to the extent that one or more household members were hungry, at least some time during the year, because they could not afford enough food. The other two-thirds of food-insecure households (8 million, or 7.4 percent of all households) obtained enough food to avoid hunger, using a variety of coping strategies such as eating less varied diets, participating in Federal food assistance programs, or getting emergency food from community food pantries. About 51 percent of food-insecure households received help from one or more of the three largest Federal food assistance programs, and 2.8 percent of all households—including 19 percent of food-insecure households—received emergency food from a food pantry, church, or food bank.

Food-secure households typically spent 32 percent more for food than food-insecure households of the same size and composition.

In 2001, 33.6 million people lived in food-insecure households, including 12.7 million children. Of these individuals, 6.1 million adults and 3 million children lived in households where someone experienced hunger during the year. However, even in households with hunger, most of the children were not hungry because most of their adult guardians protected children (especially younger children) from hunger unless hunger among the adults in the household becomes quite severe. The number of children living in households classified as 'food insecure with hunger among children' was 467,000 (0.6 percent of all U.S. children).

The prevalence of food insecurity and hunger varied considerably among household types. Some groups had rates of food insecurity much higher than the national average:

* Households with incomes below the official poverty line—$17,960 for a family of four in 2001 (36.5 percent),

* Households with children, headed by a single woman (31.9 percent),

* Hispanic households (21.8 percent), and

* Black households (21.3 percent).

Overall, households with children had more than twice the rate of food insecurity as those without children (16.1 vs. 7.7 percent). Regionally, the food insecurity rate was above the national rate in the South and West ( 12.3 and 11.9 percent, respectively) and below the national rate in the Midwest and Northeast (9.0 and 8.2 percent).

At a minimum, food-insecure households have affirmed all of the following three items or else items indicating more severe conditions:

· They worried whether their food would run out before they got money to buy more.

· The food they bought didn't last, and they didn't have money to get more.

· They couldn't afford to eat balanced meals.

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