Prevalence of child food insecurity increased significantly among Hispanic households with children in 2020

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) monitors the food security status of households in the United States through an annual nationwide survey. Food-insecure households are defined as those that had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all of their members because of a lack of resources. Households with food insecurity among children, labeled as having child food insecurity, were unable at times to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children. A household is classified by the race and ethnicity of the household reference person, or the adult in the household in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. Households with children headed by Hispanic reference persons saw statistically significant increases in food insecurity among children in 2020, increasing to 12.2 percent in 2020 from 7.8 percent in 2019. In 2020, food insecurity among children affected 13.0 percent of Black, non-Hispanic households. That prevalence was significantly above the 2020 national average, but not significantly different from the 2019 prevalence for Black, non-Hispanic households. The prevalence of food insecurity among children in Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic households has been historically higher than the prevalence for all households with children. Households that fall into the Other, non-Hispanic category of race and ethnicity are headed by reference persons that identify as Native American, Asian American, multiple-race American, or other. In 2020, the only race and ethnicity category statistically significantly below the national average of 7.6 percent for food insecurity among children was White, non-Hispanic households. This chart appears in ERS’s Amber Waves article, Food Insecurity for Households With Children Rose in 2020, Disrupting Decade-long Decline, February 2022.

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