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Household Food Security in the United States, 2007
Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-66), November 2008
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 for 2007.
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 2007, 88.9 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year, a level that was
essentially unchanged from 2005 (89.0 percent) and 2006 (89.1 percent). 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 11.1 percent (13 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.
About one-third of food-insecure households (4.7 million, or 4.1 percent of all U.S. households)
had very low food security, essentially unchanged from 2005 (3.9 percent) and 2006 (4.0 percent).
In households with very low food security, the food intake of some household members
was reduced and their normal eating patterns 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 lowfood security. However, children as well as adults experienced instances of very low food security in 323,000 households
(0.8 percent of households with children) in 2007, up from 221,000 households (0.6 percent of households with
children) in 2006.
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." On average, households classifi ed as having very low food
security experienced the condition in 7 months of the year, for a few days in each of those months. On an average day
in November 2007, for example, an estimated 609,000 to 941,000 households (0.5-0.8 percent of all U.S. households)
had members who experienced very low food security, and children experienced these conditions in 45,000 to 65,000
households (0.11 to 0.17 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, and Black and Hispanic households. Geographically, food
insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas and, regionally, more prevalent in the South than in the
Northeast and Midwest.
Food-secure households spent more for food than food-insecure households. In 2007, the median U.S. household
spent $42.50 per person for food each week—about 20 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 24 percent more than the cost of the Thrifty
Food Plan, while the median food-insecure household spent 8 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. Just over half of the food-insecure households
surveyed in 2007 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, the Food Stamp Program, and the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). About 21 percent of food-insecure households
obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the year, and 2.7 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 survey, and ERS compiles and analyzes the responses.
The 2007 food security survey covered about 45,600 households and was 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 there was too little money for food, or being hungry because there was
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 spent on food and whether they had used public or private food and nutrition assistance programs.
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