Access to food, nutritious and varied, is considered a social determinant of health. Research has shown that food insecurity, aka having limited or unstable access to food, is linked to poorer health outcomes, higher chronic disease prevalence, and overall financial hardship. This measure is defined as, "Percentage of households that have experienced food insecurity (i.e. low or very low food security)."
A food insecure household, as defined by the USDA Economic Research Service, is one that, at times during the year, was “uncertain of having or unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food.” Further, a household is designated as ‘low food security’ by the USDA if they reported reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet with little or no indication of reduced food intake; the USDA designates a household as ‘very low food security’ if they reported multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. The estimates on State Health Compare represent the percentage of households that have experienced food insecurity (i.e. low or very low food security).
State Health Compare provides state-level data on "Food Insecurity" based on findings from the Current Population Survey - Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS). The data are available across the following breakdowns: Total, race/ethnicity, presence of child in household.
