State-Level Predictors of Food Insecurity and Hunger Among Households With Children

by Judi Bartfeld and Rachel Dunifon

This report examines interstate variation in household food security. Using hierarchical modeling, we identify several contextual dimensions that appear linked to household food security: the availability and accessibility of Federal nutrition assistance programs, policies affecting economic well-being of low-income families, and States’ economic and social characteristics. These dimensions comprise what we refer to as the State food security infrastructure. We find that a strong food security infrastructure particularly benefits families that are economically vulnerable yet have incomes above the poverty line. Almost all of the observed interstate differences in food security can be explained by cross-State differences in demographic and contextual characteristics.

This study was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cornell University under a cooperative research contract with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Food and Nutrition Assistance Research Program (FANRP) (ERS project representative: Ram Chandran). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ERS or USDA.

Keywords: Food security, food insecurity, hunger, Food Stamp Program, National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, food assistance programs, EITC, Current Population Survey, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP

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