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Household Food Security in the United States, 2005
Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-29), November 2006
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 enough
food is limited by a lack of money and other resources. About
one-third of food-insecure households have very low food security,
meaning that at times the food intake of some household members
is reduced and their normal eating patterns are disrupted. The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors the food security
of 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 assistance for 2005.
What Is the Issue?
USDA’s domestic food assistance programs increase food
security by providing children and low-income people 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 that of private food assistance
programs and other government initiatives aimed at reducing
food insecurity. USDA’s annual food security report provides
statistics that guide planning for Federal, State, and community
food assistance programs.
What Did the Study Find?
Throughout the year in 2005, 89.0 percent of U.S. households
were food secure, up from 88.1 percent in 2004. 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 11.0 percent (12.6 million households) were food
insecure. These households, at some time during the year, had
difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to
a lack of resources.
About one-third of food-insecure households (4.4 million, or
3.9 percent of all U.S. households) had very low food security.
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
prevalence of very low food security remained unchanged from
2004 to 2005. 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
assistance programs, or getting emergency food from community
food pantries or emergency kitchens.
Children, as well as adults, experienced very low food security
in 270,000 households (0.7 percent of households with children).
This rate has remained between 0.5 and 0.7 percent (statistically
unchanged) since 1999.
The number of households with very low food security on a given
day was a small fraction of the number that experienced this
condition “at some time during the year.” Converting
annual into daily statistics takes into account how long those
conditions lasted in the typical household. On average, households
with very low food security at some time during the year experienced
the condition in 7 months of the year and for a few days in
each of those months. In about one-third of households with
very low food security, the condition occurred as just one or
two brief episodes during the year. A similar proportion experienced
frequent episodes of very low food security.
On a typical day in November 2005, for example, an estimated
531,000 to 797,000 households (0.5 to 0.7 percent of all U.S.
households) experienced very low food security. Children are
usually shielded from disrupted eating patterns and reduced
food intake even when resources are inadequate to provide food
for the entire family. Nevertheless, children experienced these
conditions in 32,000 to 43,000 households (0.08 to 0.11 percent
of all U.S. households with children) on a typical day.
The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among
different types of households. Rates of food insecurity were
substantially higher for households with incomes near or below
the Federal poverty line, households headed by single women
with children, and for Black and Hispanic households. Geographically,
food insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas
than in suburbs, and in the South than in other areas of the
Nation.
Food-secure households spent more for food than food-insecure
households. In 2005, the typical (median) U.S. household spent
$40 per person for food each week—about 26 percent more
than the cost of USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, which is a
low-cost food “market basket” that meets dietary
standards, taking into account household size and the age and
gender of household members. The typical food-insecure household
spent 1 percent less than the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan,
while the typical food-secure household spent 33 percent more
than the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, or 34 percent more than
the typical food-insecure household of the same age and gender
composition.
Some food-insecure households turn to Federal food 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 2005 said that in the previous
month they had participated in one or more of the three largest
Federal food assistance programs— the National School
Lunch Program, the Food Stamp Program, and the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). About
22 percent of food-insecure households obtained emergency food
from a food pantry at some time during the year, and 3.6 percent
ate one or more meals at an emergency kitchen in their community.
How Was the Study Conducted?
Data for the ERS food security report come from an annual survey
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the monthly
Current Population Survey (CPS). USDA sponsors the survey and
ERS compiles and analyzes the responses. The food security supplement
covers about 50,000 households, and is a representative sample
of the U.S. civilian population of 114 million households. The
food security survey asks 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 is
assessed based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported.
Households with very low food security among children are identified
by responses to a subset of questions about the conditions and
experiences of children. Survey respondents also report the
amounts their households spent on food and whether they used
public or private food assistance programs.
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