The Prevalence of Food Insecurity Across the U.S.
Food insecurity implies difficulty getting enough food at some time during the year. The causes are multifactorial and often include poverty, unemployment, low income, lack of affordable housing, chronic health conditions or lack of access to healthcare, and systemic racism and racial discrimination. Before and during the pandemic, food insecurity in the United States (US) has been disproportionately higher among low-income and rural populations and communities of color. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic ramifications, in 2021, food insecurity initially jumped to the highest level in decades, affecting over 20% of Americans -- approximately 1 in 4 households. According to a 2021 USDA Economic Research Service report, 10.2 percent or 13.5 million American households are food insecure. In addition, more than half (about 56 percent) of food-insecure households reported that in the previous month, they participated in one or more of the three most extensive Federal nutrition assistance programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); or the National School Lunch Program.
This webinar featured the following two distinguished panelists speaking about how public policy can help tackle food and nutrition insecurity:
Norbert Wilson, PhD, Professor of Food, Economics, and Community at the Duke Divinity School and the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.
Sara Bleich, PhD, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity in the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
This webinar was moderated by Gal Hochman, C-FARE Board Chair and Professor at Rutgers University.
Dr. Wilson kicked off the webinar with a presentation entitled: “Food Insecurity in the United States.” As defined by the World Food Summit, Dr. Wilson explained that food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. In the US, food security is measured through a series of questions called the Household Food Security Survey. The survey begins with concerns about worry and moves to more progressive concerns, however all the questions center around the ability to purchase food for the family. Dr. Wilson explained how food security is a challenge and there is an increasing body of research that shows food insecurity is often associated with additional health care costs, asthma in children, depression, diabetes, limited activity for seniors, obesity, and overall health.
In addition, Dr. Wilson presented on how the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) evaluates food insecurity every December and the results are presented typically in the fall of the following year. From 2007-2009, at the national level, there was an increase in food insecurity because of the Great Recession, but it took a long time for households to recover back to the pre-recessionary period of the rate of food insecurity. Interestingly, in 2020, food insecurity at the national level was at the same rate it was in 2019 before the pandemic. This can be credited to several Federal policies that support families with food access issues such as the SNAP program, child nutrition and WIC to name a few. These policies are critical to lowering food insecurity. Families struggling with food insecurity need economic opportunities, financial resources, and supportive policies.
After Dr. Wilson’s overview of food insecurity in the US, Dr. Bleich provided an overview of USDA’s actions to tackle food and nutrition insecurity. She explained how a core part of USDA’s mission is delivering a suite of more than 15 nutrition assistance programs which together serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year. These programs aim to provide children and income eligible people with access to safe, nutritious, and equitable food, along with nutrition education and promotion resources that promote healthy eating. The USDA’s nutrition assistance programs reach tens of millions of Americans. In addition to the nutrition assistance programs, USDA also invests more than $1 billion per year on nutrition education and promotion efforts across all programs.
Leveraging its relevant equities and building on its long-standing work to advance food security, USDA has launched a new food and nutrition security initiative this past March 2022. USDA defines nutrition security to mean all Americans have consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to health and well-being. She explained there are two core motivations for this evolution. The first is the promotion of health equity, which means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. The second is the recognition that structural inequities make it hard for many people to eat healthy and be physically active.
Dr. Bleich explained how a USDA highlights report was released the day after the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health that took place on September 28, 2022. This report explains how the USDA aims to leverage the recent Conference to help promote and elevate nutrition security by updating the school meals standards, launching Tribally led nutrition initiatives, and initiating the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans with the announcement of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in early 2023, among other activities underway.
She also provided an overview of the White House Conference goals and the corresponding National Strategy that was released the day before the Conference includes input from more than 20 Federal agencies and thousands of diverse voices around the country. Dr. Bleich explained how the National Strategy is anchored by the following five pillars and highlighted relevant USDA activities for each.
Pillar 1 – Improve food access and affordability
Pillar 2 – Integrate nutrition and health
Pillar 3 – Empower consumers to make and have access to healthy choices
Pillar 4 – Support physical activity for all, and
Pillar 5 – Enhance nutrition and food security research
Dr. Bleich concluded her remarks with particular calls to action to help accelerate the White House Conference goals and USDA’s efforts to advance food and nutrition security.
This program is supported in part by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Those who register but cannot attend our webinar can always view a recording of it later at the council’s YouTube channel.