The Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS) is the source of national and State-level statistics on food insecurity used in USDA's annual reports on household food security. The CPS is a monthly labor force survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Once each year, after answering the labor force questions, the same households are asked a series of questions (the Food Security Supplement) about food security, food expenditures, and use of food and nutrition assistance programs. Food security data have been collected by the CPS-FSS each year since 1995. Four data sets that complement those available from the Census Bureau are available for download on the ERS website. These are available as ASCII uncompressed or zipped files. The purpose and appropriate use of these additional data files are described below: 1) CPS 1995 Revised Food Security Status data--This file provides household food security scores and food security status categories that are consistent with procedures and variable naming conventions introduced in 1996. This includes the "common screen" variables to facilitate comparisons of prevalence rates across years. This file must be matched to the 1995 CPS Food Security Supplement public-use data file. 2) CPS 1998 Children's and 30-day Food Security data--Subsequent to the release of the April 1999 CPS-FSS public-use data file, USDA developed two additional food security scales to describe aspects of food security conditions in interviewed households not captured by the 12-month household food security scale. This file provides three food security variables (categorical, raw score, and scale score) for each of these scales along with household identification variables to allow the user to match this supplementary data file to the CPS-FSS April 1998 data file. 3) CPS 1999 Children's and 30-day Food Security data--Subsequent to the release of the April 1999 CPS-FSS public-use data file, USDA developed two additional food security scales to describe aspects of food security conditions in interviewed households not captured by the 12-month household food security scale. This file provides three food security variables (categorical, raw score, and scale score) for each of these scales along with household identification variables to allow the user to match this supplementary data file to the CPS-FSS April 1999 data file. 4) CPS 2000 30-day Food Security data--Subsequent to the release of the September 2000 CPS-FSS public-use data file, USDA developed a revised 30-day CPS Food Security Scale. This file provides three food security variables (categorical, raw score, and scale score) for the 30-day scale along with household identification variables to allow the user to match this supplementary data file to the CPS-FSS September 2000 data file. Food security is measured at the household level in three categories: food secure, low food security and very low food security. Each category is measured by a total count and as a percent of the total population. Categories and measurements are broken down further based on the following demographic characteristics: household composition, race/ethnicity, metro/nonmetro area of residence, and geographic region. The food security scale includes questions about households and their ability to purchase enough food and balanced meals, questions about adult meals and their size, frequency skipped, weight lost, days gone without eating, questions about children meals, including diversity, balanced meals, size of meals, skipped meals and hunger. Questions are also asked about the use of public assistance and supplemental food assistance. The food security scale is 18 items that measure insecurity. A score of 0-2 means a house is food secure, from 3-7 indicates low food security, and 8-18 means very low food security. The scale and the data also report the frequency with which each item is experienced. Data are available as .dat files which may be processed in statistical software or through the United State Census Bureau's DataFerret http://dataferrett.census.gov/. Data from 2010 onwards is available below and online. Data from 1995-2009 must be accessed through DataFerrett. DataFerrett is a data analysis and extraction tool to customize federal, state, and local data to suit your requirements. Through DataFerrett, the user can develop an unlimited array of customized spreadsheets that are as versatile and complex as your usage demands then turn those spreadsheets into graphs and maps without any additional software. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: December 2014 Food Security CPS Supplement. File Name: dec14pub.zipResource Title: December 2013 Food Security CPS Supplement. File Name: dec13pub.zipResource Title: December 2012 Food Security CPS Supplement. File Name: dec12pub.zipResource Title: December 2011 Food Security CPS Supplement. File Name: dec11pub.zipResource Title: December 2010 Food Security CPS Supplement. File Name: dec10pub.zip

The Child food insecurity rate in the United States was 16.1% in 2020. Explore a map of child hunger statistics in the United States at the state and local level.

{"definition": "Prevalence of household-level food insecurity by State. Food-insecure households were unable, at times during the year, to provide adequate food for one or more household members because the household lacked money and other resources for food. For most food-insecure households, inadequacy was in quality and variety of foods; for about a third\u2014those with very low food security\u2014amounts were also inadequate.", "availableYears": "2010-12 (aggregate data)", "name": "Household food insecurity (%, three-year average), 2010-12*", "units": "Percent", "shortName": "FOODINSEC_10_12", "geographicLevel": "State", "dataSources": "ERS estimates using 3 years of data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, as reported in Table 5 in Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Mark Nord, and Anita Singh, Household Food Security in the United States in 2012, ERR-155, USDA/ERS, September 2013 (http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155.aspx). The food security survey asks one adult respondent in each household a series of questions about experiences and behaviors that indicate food insecurity. The food security status of the household was assessed based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported (such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals because of too little money for food, or being hungry because of too little money for food). Note: margins of error are substantial for some States; comparisons between States should take into consideration margins of error published in the source report."}

© FOODINSEC_10_12 This layer is sourced from gis.ers.usda.gov.

This dataset contains State Food Insecurity metrics displayed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Environment Atlas website, including the U.S. Household Food Security Scale. The U.S. Household Food Security Scale is designed to register even occasional or episodic occurrences of food insecurity. Some households may be classified as food insecure or as having very low food security based on a single episode during the year. An estimated 11.8 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2017, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. That is down from 12.3 percent in 2016. The prevalence of very low food security also declined, to 4.5 percent from 4.9 percent in 2016. A more complete picture of the temporal patterns of food insecurity in U.S. households sheds light on the nature and seriousness of the food access problems households face and can aid in the design and management of programs to improve food security.

Data was last updated on the USDA website in September 2020.

Any data elements with numerical values reflect figures at the locality-level unless otherwise specified with an asterisk (*). See column descriptions for details. For more information on all metrics in this dataset, see the Food Environment Atlas State Food Insecurity documentation.

United States US: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data was reported at 0.800 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.700 % for 2021. United States US: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.800 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2022, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.100 % in 2015 and a record low of 0.700 % in 2021. United States US: Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity in the Population: % of population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. The percentage of people in the population who live in households classified as severely food insecure. A household is classified as severely food insecure when at least one adult in the household has reported to have been exposed, at times during the year, to several of the most severe experiences described in the FIES questions, such as to have been forced to reduce the quantity of the food, to have skipped meals, having gone hungry, or having to go for a whole day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.;Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);;

This data section provides information about publicly available national surveys that include questions from the U.S. Food Security Survey Module. Information on each survey and directions for accessing data files are available in the documentation.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Web Page For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

This is a simple proportion analysis to determine the number of veterans who may be impacted by food scarcity in the United states by county. The population of veterans in each county (9L_VetPop2016_County) was used with the total population in each county (DataDownload3.18) to determine the proportion of veterans in each county. We assumed that veterans were just as likely as anyone else to be in food scarcity and multiplied the proportion of veterans in each county by the number of low access people in the county to determine the number of food insecure veterans by county. We also used statewide very low food secure percentage as a conservative estimate of the number of veterans affected by food scarcity.This dataset was not created to be a perfect representation of the exact number of food insecure veterans. In fact, it is a very rough calculation. However, this back of the envelope calculation shows that the number of food insecure veterans is likely very high. Using county level food access we find that up to 3 million veterans could be affected by low food access, as a conservative estimate, we use the state level "very low food security percentage" and find that a minimum of 200 thousand veterans are likely food insecure. For calculations see sheet "Calculations" in DataDownload3.18.xlsVeteran Population in counties of the United States.(9L_VetPOP2016_Count.csv)https://va.gov/vetdata/Veteran_Population.aspFood Insecurity By County (DataDownload3.18.xls)https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-environment-atlas/data-access-and-documentation-downloads/

In 2023, around **** percent of all children were living in households that were classified as food insecure in the United States. This is a slight increase from the previous year, when **** percent of children were in food-insecure households.

The food insecurity rate in the United States was 14.3% in 2023. Explore a map of hunger statistics in the United States at the state and local level.

In 2023, **** percent of the population in South Asia was exposed to severe food insecurity. This was a slight increase from the previous year, when ** percent of South Asia's population was subject to severe food insecurity. Severe food insecurity in South Asia Food insecurity describes the situation when a person lacks consistent access to an adequate supply of safe and nourishing food for normal growth or a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, severe food insecurity refers to extreme conditions when the person has no food for an entire day or longer. South Asia comprises some of the poorest economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Except for the Maldives, the gross domestic product per person of South Asian countries was below **** thousand U.S. dollars. A combination of economic challenges, land degradation, climate change effects, and structural dependence on the global north partly induced by globalization, among other reasons, has resulted in the highest prevalence of severe food insecurity in the Asia-Pacific region for South Asia, with almost a fifth of the population experiencing severe food insecurity. India’s food insecurity and lifestyle diseases South Asia is home to about a quarter of the world’s population, with India making up more than ******* percent of it. The prevalence of chronic hunger, moderate and severe food insecurity in India between 2015 and 2021 continuously increased. The Indian government has deployed several public initiatives to ensure nutrition and food security in the country. Nevertheless, the Global Hunger Index has classified India among the countries that are most affected by hunger and malnutrition, with an index of ****. The situations that pose health risks not only stem from malnourishment but from lifestyle as well. For instance, lifestyle shifts towards more modern ones have led to an increase in common lifestyle diseases among Indians.

In 2023, an estimated 10.7 percent of the global population faced severe food insecurity, up from 7.7 percent in 2014. Nearly every region in the world saw an increase in hunger, but Africa remains the hardest hit. More than 21 percent of its population is affected by severe food insecurity, making it the most impacted region globally. Between 2018 and 2022, the prevalence of severe food insecurity in Africa rose by nearly five percentage points, underscoring the urgency of addressing the crisis.

In Venezuela, as of 2021, the food insecurity rate, characterized by an individual's insufficient access to safe and nourishing food necessary for healthy growth and development, was most pronounced in the state of Trujillo, standing at a staggering **** percent.

https://map.feedingamerica.org/Every community in the country is home to people who struggle with hunger. Since federal nutrition programs don’t reach everyone in need, food banks help fill the gap. Learn more about local food insecurity by exploring data from Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study. When we better understand hunger, we can help end hunger.What is food insecurity and what does it look like in America?Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food-insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. Food insecurity may reflect a household’s need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods.Gundersen, C., A. Dewey, M. Kato, A. Crumbaugh & M. Strayer. Map the Meal Gap 2019: A Report on County and Congressional District Food Insecurity and County Food Cost in the United States in 2017. Feeding America, 2019.

The Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS) is a nationally representative dataset created by the U.S. Census Bureau under sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). It has been collected annually since 1995 as a supplement to the monthly CPS, which surveys approximately 50,000 households on labor force and socioeconomic topics. The dataset measures food security, including indicators like food expenditure, access to food, quality, safety, and participation in federal food assistance programs. It uses a standardized 18-item module to assess household-level food insecurity severity. Key features include state-level estimates (since 1998) and alignment with USDA’s annual reports on food security. Its primary purpose is to monitor hunger and food insecurity trends in the U.S., informing policy decisions and programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Researchers and policymakers use it to analyze disparities by demographic factors (e.g., income, race, geography) and evaluate the impact of economic or public health crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Unique aspects include its longitudinal consistency, integration with labor force data, and public accessibility via platforms like the USDA ERS and Census Bureau, enabling robust analyses of food insecurity’s social and economic determinants. (Source: USDA ERS, Census Bureau, and academic analyses cited in search results.)

This dataset contains Supplemental Data at the state level from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Environment Atlas website, including program participation data across states for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP).

Data was last updated on the USDA website in September 2020.

Any data elements with numerical values reflect figures at the state-level. See column descriptions for details. For more information on all metrics in this dataset, see the Food Environment Atlas Data Access and Documentation Downloads website.

The food insecurity rate in the United States was 10.9% in 2019. Explore a map of hunger statistics in the United States at the state and local level.

Abstract

Key components of the WFSO database cover the prevalence of severe food insecurity, including estimates for countries lacking official data, population sizes of the severely food insecure, and required safety net financing. Data is presented in a user-friendly format.

WFSO data primarily relies on hunger and malnutrition data from the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, led by the Food and agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with multiple UN agencies. WFSO complements SOFI data by providing estimates for unreported countries. Historical estimates are produced with a machine learning model leveraging World Development Indicators (WDI) for global coverage.

Financing needs for safety nets are calculated similarly to past approaches by the International Development Association (IDA) to assess food insecurity response needs (IDA (2020) and IDA (2021)). Preliminary estimates and projections rely on the same model and incorporate International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s World Economic Outlook (WEO) growth and inflation forecasts. WEO data reflects the IMF's expert analysis from various sources, including government agencies, central banks, and international organizations.

Minor gaps in WDI data inflation data are replaced with unofficial WEO estimates. Minor inflation data gaps not covered by both, are replaced with unofficial inflation estimates from the World Bank's Real Time Food Prices (RTFP) data.

The WFSO is updated three times a year, coinciding with IMF's WEO and SOFI releases. It provides food security projections that align with economic forecasts, aiding policymakers in integrating food security into economic planning.

The WFSO database serves various purposes, aiding World Bank economists and researchers in economic analysis, policy recommendations, and the assessment of global financing needs to address food insecurity.

Additionally, the WFSO enhances transparency in global food security data by tracking regional and global figures and breaking them down by individual countries. Historical estimates support research and long-term trend assessments, especially in the context of relating outlooks to past food security crises.

Geographic coverage

World

Geographic coverage notes

191 countries and territories mutually included by the World Bank's WDI and IMF's WEO databases. The country coverage is based on mutual inclusion in both the World Bank World Development Indicators database and the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook database. Some countries and territories may not be covered. Every attempt is made to provide comprehensive coverage. To produce complete historical predictions, missing data in the WDI are completed with unofficial data from the WEO and the World Bank's RTFP data when inflation data is not available in either database. Final gaps in the WDI and WEO are interpolated using a Kernel-based pattern-matching algorithm. See background documentation for equations.

Analysis unit

Country

Kind of data

Process-produced data [pro]

This table contains data on the average cost of a market basket of nutritious food items relative to income for female-headed households with children, for California, its regions, counties, and cities/towns. The ratio uses data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Census Bureau. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. An adequate, nutritious diet is a necessity at all stages of life. Inadequate diets can impair intellectual performance and have been linked to more frequent school absence and poorer educational achievement in children. Nutrition also plays a significant role in causing or preventing a number of illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, some cancers, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and anemia. At least two factors influence the affordability of food and the dietary choices of families – the cost of food and family income. The inability to afford food is a major factor in food insecurity, which has a spectrum of effects including anxiety over food sufficiency or food shortages; reduced quality or desirability of diet; and disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the Attachments.

The IPC Acute Food Insecurity (IPC AFI) classification provides strategically relevant information to decision makers that focuses on short-term objectives to prevent, mitigate or decrease severe food insecurity that threatens lives or livelihoods. This data has been produced by the National IPC Technical Working Groups for IPC population estimates since 2017. All national population figures are based on official country population estimates. IPC estimates are those published in country IPC reports.

There is also a global dataset.

Data are provided in this collection on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. Comprehensive data are available on the employment status, occupation, and industry of persons 15 years old and older. Also shown are personal characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, veteran status, household relationship, educational background, and Hispanic origin. The Food Security Supplement was conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Food and Consumer Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Supplement questions were asked of all interviewed households, as appropriate. Questions included expenditure for food, whether the household had enough food and the kinds of food they wanted, and whether the household was running short of money and trying to make their food or food money go further. Additional questions dealt with getting food from food pantries or soup kitchens, cutting the size of or skipping meals, and losing weight because there wasn't enough food. The Supplement was intended to research the full range of the severity of food insecurity and hunger as experienced in United States households and was used by the Supplement sponsor to produce a scaled measure of food insecurity. Responses to individual items in the Supplement are not meaningful measures of food insufficiency and should not be used in such a manner. (Source: ICPSR, retrieved 06/23/2011).

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at ICPSR -- https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03909.v2. We highly recommend using the ICPSR version as they made this dataset available in multiple data formats.