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Each September, the federal government releases statistics that offer a robust profile of the economic wellbeing of American households during the year prior. This week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the first of such reports from 2018, which shows that American households have finally returned to food security levels experienced prior to the economic downturn beginning in late 2007. It also shows that federal food assistance programs relieve food insecurity for most participating households.
The USDA Economic Research Service annually analyses survey data collected from roughly 37,300 households across the US on questions related to adequate food access, or what is termed household food security. The Household Food Security report shows that 11.1 percent of households were food insecure in 2018, meaning they did not have access to an adequate and healthy diet at some point during the year. This was a decline from a high of 14.9 percent in 2011 and the same level reported in 2007.
The share of households that have very low food security also declined in 2018 to 4.3 percent, well below the 5.7 percent of households with very low food security in 2008. Very low food insecurity means that a household reduced their food intake due to a lack of resources at some point during the year, such as skipping or reducing the size of meals. Fortunately, only 0.6 percent of households with children experienced very low food security in 2018, with authors of the report explaining that “children are usually shielded from the disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake that characterize very low food security.”
We typically think of households with very low food security as reflecting hunger, but the two concepts are not necessarily the same. And it is revealing to hone in on the conditions experienced by these households. According to the report:
“In the 2018 survey, households classified as having very low food security (representing an estimated 5.6 million households nationwide) reported the following specific conditions: – 98% reported having worried that their food would run out before they got money to buy more. – 97% reported that the food they bought just did not last and they did not have money to get more. – 96% reported that they could not afford to eat balanced meals. – 97% reported that an adult had cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food; 90% reported that this had occurred in 3 or more months. – 94% reported that they had eaten less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food. – 69% reported that they had been hungry but did not eat because they could not afford enough food. – 47% reported having lost weight because they did not have enough money for food. – 32% reported that an adult did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food; 25% reported that this had occurred in 3 or more months.
The report also noted that “When households experience very low food security in the United States, the resulting instances of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns are usually occasional or episodic, but not usually constant.”
Federal safety net programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the National School Lunch Program, are designed to help relieve these more severe food disruptions. The report reveals that the majority of SNAP households and recipients of free or reduced-price school lunches were food secure while receiving benefits. Among households that received SNAP in the 30 days prior to taking the survey, 86.9 percent did not experience very low food security and among those receiving free or reduced-price school meals, 92 percent did not experience very low food insecurity.
This means that SNAP and the National School Lunch Program relieves food insecurity for most participating households. But these data also highlight the importance of a strong economy. Data trends show that when the economy is strong, household food security rises even as fewer households participate in food assistance programs due to increases in employment and earnings.
The Household Food Security report shows that 11.1 percent of households were food insecure in 2018, meaning they did not have access to an adequate and healthy diet at some point during the year. This was a decline from a high of 14.9 percent in both 2011 and 2007.
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