Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit

by Barbara Cohen, Margaret Andrews, and Linda Kantor

This report provides a toolkit of standardized measurement tools for assessing various aspects of community food security. It includes a general guide to community assessment and focused materials for examining six basic assessment components related to community food security. These include guides for profiling general community characteristics and community food resources as well as materials for assessing household food security, food resource accessibility, food availability and affordability, and community food production resources. Data collection tools include secondary data sources, focus group guides, and a food store survey instrument. The toolkit was developed through a collaborative process that was initiated at the community Food Security Assessment Conference sponsored by ERS in June 1999. It is designed for use by community-based nonprofit organizations and business groups, local government officials, private citizens, and community planners.

Keywords: community food security, community assessment, hunger, food assistance programs, emergency food providers, food store access, food affordability, Thrifty Food Plan, community-supported agriculture

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Abstract, Acknowledgments, Contents
• Introduction
• Overview of the Assessment Process: Steps for Getting Started
• Data Collection and Analysis Guide: Deciding What Data To Collect
• Profile of Community Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics
• Profile of Community Food Resources
• Assessment of Household Food Security
• Assessment of Food Resource Accessibility
• Assessment of Food Availability and Affordability
• Assessment of Community Food Production Resources
• Glossary, References, and Bibliography
• Appendix A: Data Tables and Tips for Developing Them
• Appendix B: Focus Group Guides and Materials
• Appendix C: Food Store Survey Instrument and Materials