United States Department of Agriculture

Economic

Research

Service

Economic

Research

Report

Number 275

September 2020

Household Food Security 

in the United States in 2019

Alisha Coleman-Jensen

Matthew P. Rabbitt

Christian A. Gregory

Anita Singh

United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service 

www.ers.usda.gov

United States Department of Agriculture

Recommended citation format for this publication:

Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh. 

2020. Household Food Security in the United States in 2019, ERR-275, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

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United States Department of Agriculture

Economic

Research

Service

Economic

Research

Report

Number 275

September 2020

Abstract

This report presents findings from data collected in December 2019 for the year that 

preceded the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An estimated 89.5 percent of 

U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2019, with access at all 

times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining 

households (10.5 percent, down from 11.1 percent in 2018) were food insecure at least 

some time during the year, including 4.1 percent with very low food security (not significantly different from 4.3 percent in 2018). Very low food security is the more severe range 

of food insecurity where one or more household members experienced reduced food 

intake and disrupted eating patterns at times during the year because of limited money 

and other resources for obtaining food. Among children, changes from 2018 in food insecurity and very low food security were not statistically significant. Children and adults 

were food insecure in 6.5 percent of U.S. households with children in 2019; very low food 

security among children was 0.6 percent. In 2019, the typical food-secure household spent 

24 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and 

household composition. About 58 percent of food-insecure households participated in one 

or more of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs: Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps); Special Supplemental Nutrition 

Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch 

Program during the month prior to the 2019 survey. 

Keywords: food security, food insecurity, food spending, food pantry, soup kitchen, emergency kitchen, material well-being, material hardship, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program, SNAP, Food Stamp Program, National School Lunch Program, Special 

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC

Household Food Security in the 

United States in 2019

Alisha Coleman-Jensen, alisha.coleman-jensen@usda.gov

Matthew P. Rabbitt, matthew.rabbitt@usda.gov

Christian A. Gregory, christian.gregory@usda.gov

Anita Singh, USDA, Food and Nutrition Service
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About the Authors 

Alisha Coleman-Jensen is a sociologist, and Matthew Rabbitt is an economist in the USDA, 

Economic Research Service (ERS). Christian Gregory is chief of the Food Assistance Branch, 

Food Economics Division, USDA, Economic Research Service. Anita Singh is chief of the SNAP 

Evaluation Branch, SNAP Research and Analysis Division, USDA, Food and Nutrition Service.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Brandon Restrepo, Laura Tiehen, Katherine Ralston, and Jay Variyam of the 

USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), for their reviews. Thanks also to ERS editor Melanie 

Scarborough and ERS designer Cynthia A. Ray for their work in producing the report.
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Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Household Food Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Prevalence of Food Insecurity—National Conditions and Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Prevalence of Food Insecurity by Selected Household Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Prevalence of Food Insecurity by State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Household Spending on Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Food Expenditures by Selected Household Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Food Expenditures and Household Food Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs and Food Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Food Security of Households That Received Nutrition Assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Participation in Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs by Food-Insecure Households. . . . . . . 33

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Contents
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List of Tables

Table 1A—Households and individuals by food security status of household, 1998-2019. . . . . . . . . 8

Table 1B—Households with children by food security status and children by food security 

status of household, 1998-2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Table 2—Households by food security status and selected household characteristics, 2019. . . . . . 15

Table 3—Prevalence of food security and food insecurity in households with children 

by selected household characteristics, 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Table 4—Prevalence of household food insecurity and very low food security by State, 

average 2017-19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Table 5—Change in prevalence of household food insecurity and very low food security 

by State, 2017-19 (average), 2014-16 (average), and 2007-09 (average). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Table 6—Weekly household food spending per person and relative to the cost of the 

Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Table 7—Weekly household food spending per person and relative to the cost of the 

Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) by food security status, 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Table 8—Percentage of households by food security status and participation in selected 

Federal nutrition assistance programs, 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Table 9—Participation of food-insecure households in selected Federal nutrition assistance 

programs, 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Additional tables are available in: Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. 

Gregory, and Anita Singh. 2020. Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United 

States in 2019, AP-084, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
ERS is a primary source 

of economic research and 

analysis from the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 

providing timely information on economic and policy 

issues related to agriculture, 

food, the environment, and 

rural America.

United States Department of Agriculture

A report summary from the Economic Research Service September 2020

Household Food Security in the 

United States in 2019

Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, 

and Anita Singh

What Is the Issue?

Most U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy 

living—they are food secure. However, some households experience food insecurity at times 

during the year, meaning their access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and 

other resources. USDA’s food and nutrition assistance programs aim to increase food security 

by providing low-income households access to food for a healthful diet, as well as nutrition 

education. USDA monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households 

through an annual, nationally representative survey sponsored and analyzed by USDA’s 

Economic Research Service (ERS). This report presents statistics from the survey that cover 

household food security, food expenditures, and use of Federal nutrition assistance programs in 

2019. Readers should note that these are 2019 statistics collected in December 2019 and 

do not reflect the potential impacts of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic 

that began in 2020.

What Did the Study Find? 

Main findings:

• The 2019 prevalence of food insecurity, at 10.5 percent, continued to decline from a high of 

14.9 percent in 2011 and was significantly below the pre-recession level (2007) of 11.1 percent. 

• In 2019, 89.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure. The remaining 10.5 percent 

(13.7 million households) were food insecure. Food-insecure households (those with 

low and very low food security) had difficulty at some time during the year providing 

enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. The decline from 2018 (11.1 

percent) was statistically significant.

• In 2019, 4.1 percent of U.S. households (5.3 million households) had very low food security, not significantly different from 4.3 percent in 2018. In this more severe range of food 

insecurity, the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating 

patterns were disrupted at times during the year due to limited resources.

Findings for households with children: 

• Children were food insecure at times during 2019 in 6.5 percent of U.S. households with 

children (2.4 million households), not significantly different from 7.1 percent in 2018. 

These households with food insecurity among children were unable at times to provide 

adequate, nutritious food for their children. 

www.ers.usda.gov

United States Department of Agriculture

Economic

Research

Service

Economic

Research

Report

Number 275

September 2020

Household Food Security 

in the United States in 2019

Alisha Coleman-Jensen

Matthew P. Rabbitt

Christian A. Gregory

Anita Singh

United States Department of Agriculture

Summary
• While children are usually shielded from the disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake that characterize very low food security, in 2019, both children and adults suffered instances of very low food security in 0.6 percent of households with children (213,000 households), unchanged from 0.6 percent in 2018. 

These households with very low food security among children reported that children were hungry, skipped 

a meal, or did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food. 

Prevalence of food insecurity in 2019 fell below 2007 level for the first time

Percent of households

0

4

8

12

16

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Food insecurity

(including low and very low food security)

Very low food security

10.5 percent

4.1 percent

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population 

Survey Food Security Supplement.

Findings for population subgroups and States: 

• Rates of food insecurity were higher than the national average for the following groups: households with 

incomes near or below the Federal poverty line, including those with incomes below 185 percent of the 

poverty line; all households with children and particularly households with children headed by single 

women or single men; women and men living alone; Black- and Hispanic-headed households; and households in principal cities and nonmetropolitan areas.

• The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably from State to State, ranging from 6.6 percent in New 

Hampshire to 15.7 percent in Mississippi in 2017-19. (Data for 3 years were combined to provide more reliable State-level statistics.)

Findings for food spending and Federal nutrition assistance participation:

• The typical (median) food-secure household spent 24 percent more for food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and composition. These estimates include food purchases made with 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

• About 58 percent of food-insecure households in the survey reported that, in the previous month, they had participated in one or more of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs: SNAP; Special Supplemental 

Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and National School Lunch Program. 

How Was the Study Conducted?

Data for the ERS food security reports come from an annual survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census as 

the December supplement to the monthly Current Population Survey. ERS sponsors the annual Food Security 

Supplement survey and compiles and analyzes the responses. The 2019 food security survey included 34,334 

households that comprise a representative sample of the U.S. civilian population of about 130 million households. 

The food security survey asked one adult respondent per household about experiences and behaviors that indicate 

food insecurity during calendar year 2019, such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of 

meals, or being hungry because of too little money for food. The food security status of the household was 

assigned based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported.

www.ers.usda.gov
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Household Food Security in the 

United States in 2019

Introduction

Since 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has collected information annually on food 

access and adequacy, food spending, and sources of food assistance for the U.S. population. The 

information is collected in an annual survey, the Food Security Supplement, conducted by the U.S. 

Bureau of the Census as a supplement to the nationally representative Current Population Survey.1 A 

major impetus for this data collection is to provide information about the prevalence and severity of 

food insecurity in U.S. households. Annual monitoring of food security contributes to the effective 

operation of the Federal nutrition assistance programs as well as private food assistance programs 

and other government initiatives aimed at reducing food insecurity. Previous reports in the series are 

available on the ERS website.

This report updates the national statistics on food security in calendar year 2019, household food 

spending, and the use of Federal nutrition assistance by food-insecure households, using data 

collected in the December 2019 food security survey—the 25th annual survey in the Nation’s food 

security monitoring system. Additional statistics—including the prevalence of food insecurity 

during the 30 days prior to the food security survey, the frequency of food-insecure conditions, and 

use of food pantries and emergency kitchens—are available in the Statistical Supplement to this 

report (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). 

Readers should note that the impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 is 

not reflected in these statistics as the data were collected in December 2019.

1See Coleman-Jensen (2015) for the history of the food security measurement project and the development of food 

security measures.
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Household Food Security

Food security—access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life—is one of 

several conditions necessary for a population to be healthy and well nourished. This section provides 

information on food security and food insecurity in U.S. households throughout 2019.

Methods

The statistics presented in this report are based on data collected in the Food Security Supplement 

to the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted in December 2019.2 The CPS currently includes 

about 50,000 households and is representative of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of 

the United States at State and national levels. In December 2019, 34,334 households completed 

the Food Security Supplement; the remaining households were unable or unwilling to do so. The 

U.S. Bureau of the Census calculates survey sample weights to indicate how many households 

were represented by each household that responded to the survey.3 All statistics in this report 

were calculated by applying the Food Security Supplement weights to responses by the surveyed 

households, so the statistics are nationally representative. 

Unless otherwise noted, statistical differences described in the text are significant at the 90-percent 

confidence level.4 Statistical significance depends both on the size of the difference of the estimates 

and the precision of the estimates—or the size of the standard error of the estimates. Standard errors 

vary across population subgroups. 

Household food security statistics presented here are based on a measure of food security calculated 

from responses to a series of questions about conditions and behaviors that characterize households 

when they have difficulty meeting basic food needs.5 Each question asks whether the condition 

or behavior occurred at any time during the previous 12 months and specifies the reason as a 

lack of money and other resources to obtain food. Voluntary fasting or dieting to lose weight are 

2The food security survey was conducted December 8-18, 2019. 

3In 2019, 30.3 percent of households that responded to the monthly December CPS did not complete the Food Security 

Supplement (FSS). Reweighting of the Supplement considers income and other information about households that completed 

the labor-force portion of the survey but not the FSS. This corrects, to some extent, biases that could result from nonresponse 

to the Supplement by households that completed only the labor-force part of the survey. At ERS’ request, the Bureau of the 

Census conducted a nonresponse bias analysis of the FSS. While the analysis found that the distributions of respondents and 

nonrespondents differ on some demographic characteristics, those distributional differences do not necessarily indicate a 

nonresponse bias problem (Farnham, 2017). 

4Standard errors of national-level estimates from 2011 to the present were calculated using balanced repeated replication 

(BRR) methods based on replicate weights computed for the CPS Food Security Supplement by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. For years before 2011, standard errors of national estimates use a design factor of 1.6 based on the complex CPS sample 

design. State-level estimates from 2010 to the present use replicate weights computed for the CPS Food Security Supplement. 

Before 2010, standard errors of State-level estimates were calculated using jackknife replication methods with “month in 

sample” groups considered as separate independent samples. This report uses the phrase essentially unchanged to describe 

differences between estimates of a statistic for 2 years that are not statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. 

Standard errors of all estimates are available from the authors by request.

5The methods used to measure the extent and severity of food insecurity have been described in several studies (Hamilton et al., 1997a, 1997b; Andrews et al., 1998; Bickel et al., 1998; Carlson et al., 1999; Bickel et al., 2000; Nord and Bickel, 

2002). See also the assessment of the measurement methods by a panel of the Committee on National Statistics (National 

Research Council, 2006). Further details on the development of the measure are provided on the ERS website.
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thereby excluded from the measure. The series includes three questions about the household’s food 

conditions as a whole and seven about food conditions of adults in the household. If children are 

present, an additional eight questions about their food conditions are included (see box, “Questions 

Used To Assess the Food Security of Households in the CPS Food Security Survey,” page 5).6

Responses to the 18 food security questions are reported in tables S-5 to S-6 of the Statistical 

Supplement (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). The number of food-insecure conditions and behaviors 

the household reports determines the food security status of each interviewed household.7

Households are classified as food secure if they report no food-insecure conditions or only one 

or two food-insecure conditions. (Food-insecure conditions are indicated by responses of “often” 

or “sometimes” to questions 1-3 and 11-13; “almost every month” or “some months but not 

every month” to questions 5, 10, and 17; and “yes” to the other questions.) They are classified as 

food insecure if they report three or more food-insecure conditions (based on questions 1-10 for 

households without children and questions 1-18 for households with children).8 Households are 

classified as having food insecurity among children or food-insecure children if they report two or 

more food-insecure conditions among the children in response to questions 11-18.9

Food-insecure households are further classified as having either low food security or very low food 

security.10 The very low food security category identifies households in which the food intake of one 

or more members was reduced and eating patterns disrupted because of insufficient money and other 

resources for food (see box, “What Is ‘Very Low Food Security’?” on page 6). Households without 

children are classified as having very low food security if they report six or more food-insecure 

6An official Spanish translation of the food security questions is used in the survey and available on the ERS website. 

ERS assessed the effect of interview language on Hispanics versus non-Hispanics and found no differences in the statistical 

properties of the food security measure (Rabbitt and Coleman-Jensen, 2017).

7Recent analysis of possible measurement error in the food security module found evidence of underreporting of more 

severe items. There was no evidence of overreporting of food insecurity (Gregory, 2019). 

8To reduce the survey burden on higher-income respondents, households with incomes above 185 percent of the Federal 

poverty line that do not indicate food-access problems on either of two preliminary screening questions are deemed to be food 

secure and are not asked the questions in the food security assessment series. The preliminary screening questions asked of all 

households are as follows:

•	 People do different things when they are running out of money for food in order to make their food or their food money 

go further. In the last 12 months, since December of last year, did you ever run short of money and try to make your 

food or your food money go further? In 2019, 18.8 percent of households responded “yes,” and 81.2 percent responded 

“no.”

•	 Which of these statements best describes the food eaten in your household—enough of the kinds of food we want 

to eat, enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat, sometimes not enough to eat, or often not enough to 

eat? In 2019, 81.0 percent of respondents responded “enough of the kinds of food we want to eat,” 15.4 percent said 

“enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat,” 2.8 percent indicated “sometimes not enough to eat,” and 0.9 

percent reported “often not enough to eat” (numbers do not sum to 100 due to rounding). 

9Both qualitative and quantitative research studies have suggested that parents’ reports of their children’s food insecurity 

sometimes differed from adolescents’ self-reported food insecurity and that parents were sometimes unaware of the degree to 

which children reduced their own food intake due to household food insecurity (Fram et al., 2011; Nord and Hanson, 2012). 

The extent to which underreporting of children’s food insecurity may exist is unknown (see pp. 9-10 in Coleman-Jensen, 

McFall, and Nord (2013) for a discussion of research on parent-reported and self-reported food insecurity among children). 

A comprehensive review of diet quality and food security found evidence that adults shield children from food insecurity 

(Hanson and Connor, 2014). 

10Prior to 2006, households with low food security were described as “food insecure without hunger,” and households with 

very low food security were described as “food insecure with hunger.” Changes in these descriptions were made in 2006 at the 

recommendation of the Committee on National Statistics (National Research Council, 2006) to distinguish the physiological 

state of hunger from indicators of food availability. The criteria by which households were classified remained unchanged. 
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conditions (based on questions 1-10). Households with children age 0-17 are classified as having 

very low food security if they report eight or more food-insecure conditions among adults and/or 

children (based on questions 1-18).11 They are further classified as having very low food security 

among children if they report five or more food-insecure conditions among the children (that is, if 

they respond affirmatively to five or more of questions 11-18). 

Low and very low food security differ in the extent and character of the adjustments the household 

makes to its eating patterns and food intake. Households classified as having low food security have 

reported multiple indications of food acquisition problems and reduced diet quality, but typically 

have reported fewer, if any, indications of reduced food intake. Those classified as having very low 

food security have reported multiple indications of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns 

due to inadequate resources for food. In most, but not all, households with very low food security,

the survey respondent reported that they were hungry at some time during the year but did not eat 

because there was not enough money for food.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity—National Conditions and Trends

An estimated 89.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2019 

(fig. 1, table 1A). In concept, “food secure” means that all household members had access at all 

times to enough food for an active, healthy life (Anderson, 1990).12 The remaining 10.5 percent 

(13.7 million households) were food insecure at some time during the year. Food insecurity means 

that households were, at times, unable to acquire adequate food for one or more household 

members because they had insufficient money and other resources for food. A majority of 

food-insecure households—those classified as having low food security (but not very low food 

security)—avoided substantial reductions or disruptions in food intake, in some cases by relying on 

a few basic foods and reducing variety in their diets. However, 4.1 percent (5.3 million households) 

had very low food security. Very low food security means that households were food insecure to 

the extent that eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and their food 

intake reduced, at least some time during the year, because they could not afford enough food.

Research confirms that food insecurity affects both dietary quality and dietary quantity. Low-income 

food-insecure households spent less on food, purchased fewer calories overall, and had lower quality 

food purchases than low-income food-secure households, according to USDA’s National Food 

Acquisition and Purchase Survey data (Gregory, Mancino, and Coleman-Jensen, 2019).

11Implications of differences in raw score thresholds for very low food security between households with and without 

children are discussed in Nord and Coleman-Jensen (2014) and Coleman-Jensen, Rabbitt, and Gregory (2017).

12Food security statistics, as operationally measured for this report using survey data, are based on household responses 

to items about whether the household was able to obtain enough food to meet its needs. This operational measure does not 

specifically address whether the household members’ food intake was sufficient for active, healthy lives—the conceptual 

definition of food security. Nonetheless, research based on other data collections has found survey-based measures of food 

security to be statistically associated with various outcomes involving health, nutrition, and children’s development in a manner that generally supports the link between the report’s survey-based measure of food security and the conceptual definition 

of food security (see, for example, Coleman-Jensen et al., 2013; Gregory and Coleman-Jensen, 2017; Nord, 2009a; Nord and 

Hopwood, 2007; Nord and Kantor, 2006).
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1. “We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.” Was that often, sometimes, or 

never true for you in the last 12 months? 

2. “The food that we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often, sometimes, or 

never true for you in the last 12 months?

3. “We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

4. In the last 12 months, did you or other adults in the household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals 

because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

5. (If yes to question 4) How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in 

only 1 or 2 months?

6. In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food? 

(Yes/No)

7. In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry, but didn’t eat, because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

8. In the last 12 months, did you lose weight because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

9. In the last 12 months did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t 

enough money for food? (Yes/No)

10. (If yes to question 9) How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in 

only 1 or 2 months?

(Questions 11-18 were asked only if the household included children age 0-17) 

11. “We relied on only a few kinds of low-cost food to feed our children because we were running out of money to buy 

food.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months? 

12. “We couldn’t feed our children a balanced meal, because we couldn’t afford that.” Was that often, sometimes, or 

never true for you in the last 12 months?

13. “The children were not eating enough because we just couldn’t afford enough food.” Was that often, sometimes, or 

never true for you in the last 12 months?

14. In the last 12 months, did you ever cut the size of any of the children’s meals because there wasn’t enough money 

for food? (Yes/No)

15. In the last 12 months, were the children ever hungry but you just couldn’t afford more food? (Yes/No)

16. In the last 12 months, did any of the children ever skip a meal because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No) 

17. (If yes to question 16) How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in 

only 1 or 2 months?

18. In the last 12 months did any of the children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for 

food? (Yes/No)

Coding of Responses

Questions 1-3 and 11-13 are coded as affirmative (i.e., possibly indicating food insecurity) if the response is “often” 

or “sometimes.” Questions 5, 10, and 17 are coded as affirmative if the response is “almost every month” or “some 

months but not every month.” The remaining questions are coded as affirmative if the response is “yes.”

Assessing Food Security Status in Households without Children

Households without children are classified as food insecure if they report 3 or more indications of food insecurity in 

response to the first 10 questions; they are classified as having very low food security if they report 6 or more foodinsecure conditions out of the first 10 questions. 

Assessing Food Security Status in Households with Children Age 0-17

Households with children are classified as food insecure if they report 3 or more indications of food insecurity in 

response to the entire set of 18 questions; they are classified as having very low food security if they report 8 or more 

food-insecure conditions in response to the entire set of 18 questions. 

The food security status of children in the household is assessed by responses to the child-referenced questions (questions 11-18). Households reporting two or more of these conditions are classified as having food insecurity among 

children. Households reporting five or more are classified as having very low food security among children.

Questions Used To Assess the Food Security of Households in the CPS Food 

Security Supplement
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Very low food security can be characterized in terms 

of the conditions that households in this category 

reported in the food security survey. Households 

without children classified as having very low food 

security reported six or more food-insecure conditions and households with children reported eight or 

more food-insecure conditions, including conditions 

among both adults and children. Thus, the conditions reported by respondents reflect the definition of 

“very low food security”: at times during the year, the 

food intake of household members was reduced and 

their normal eating patterns were disrupted because 

the household lacked money and other resources for 

food. In the 2019 survey, households classified as 

having very low food security (representing an estimated 5.3 million households nationwide) reported 

the following specific conditions:

• 97 percent reported having worried that their 

food would run out before they got money to buy 

more.

• 96 percent reported that the food they bought just 

did not last and they did not have money to get 

more.

• 94 percent reported that they could not afford to 

eat balanced meals.

• 97 percent reported that an adult had cut the size 

of meals or skipped meals because there was not 

enough money for food; 89 percent reported that 

this had occurred in 3 or more months.

• 96 percent reported that they had eaten less 

than they felt they should because there was not 

enough money for food.

• 69 percent reported that they had been hungry but 

did not eat because they could not afford enough 

food.

• 48 percent reported having lost weight because 

they did not have enough money for food.

• 36 percent reported that an adult did not eat 

for a whole day because there was not enough 

money for food; 29 percent reported that this had 

occurred in 3 or more months

As noted above, all households without children 

classified as having very low food security reported 

at least six of these conditions. The majority of 

households with very low food security, 70 percent, 

reported seven or more food-insecure conditions. 

(Conditions reported by households with children 

were similar to those without children, but the 

reported food-insecure conditions of both adults and 

children were taken into account.) 

What Is “Very Low Food Security”?

Percentage of households reporting each indicator of food insecurity, by food security status, 2019

0 20 40 60 80 100

Worried food would run out

Food bought did not last

Could not afford balanced meal

Cut size of meal or skipped meal

Cut or skipped meal in 3+ months

Ate less than felt should

Hungry but did not eat

Lost weight

Did not eat whole day

Did not eat whole day, 3+ months

Percent

Food secure

Low food security

Very low food security

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current Population 

Survey Food Security Supplement.
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Figure 1

U.S. households by food security status, 2019

Food-insecure households—10.5%

Households with low food

security—6.4%

Households with very low food

security—4.1%

Food-secure 

households—89.5%

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

Among U.S. households with children under age 18, 86.4 percent were food secure in 2019. The 

remaining 13.6 percent of households with children were food insecure at some time during the year 

in 2019 (fig. 2, table 1B). Parents and caregivers often are able to maintain normal or near-normal 

diets and meal patterns for their children, even when the parents themselves are food insecure. In 

about half of food-insecure households with children in 2019, only adults were food insecure (7.1 

percent of households with children). However, both children and adults were food insecure in 6.5 

percent of households with children (2.4 million households) in 2019. In 0.6 percent of households 

with children (213,000 households), food insecurity among children was so severe that caregivers 

reported that children were hungry, skipped a meal, or did not eat for a whole day because there 

was not enough money for food. These households are described as having very low food security 

among children. Sometimes only older children in such households suffer the more severe effects of 

food insecurity, while caregivers and other family members seek to protect younger children from 

those effects (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2013; Nord, 2009a).

The food security survey is designed to measure food security status at the household level. While it 

is informative to examine the number of persons living in food-insecure households, these statistics 

should be interpreted carefully. Within a food-insecure household, each household member may 

be affected differently by the household’s food insecurity. Some members—particularly young 

children—may experience only mild effects or none at all, while adults are more severely affected. 

It is more precise, therefore, to describe these statistics as representing “persons living in foodinsecure households” rather than as representing “food-insecure persons.” Similarly, “persons living 

in households with very low food security” is a more precise description than “persons with very 

low food security.”
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Table 1A

Households and individuals by food security status of household, 1998-2019

Food insecure

Category

and year Total1 Food secure All

With low 

food security

With very low 

food security

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

Households:

2019 129,621 115,959 89.5 13,662 10.5 8,340 6.4 5,322 4.1

2018 129,245 114,934 88.9 14,311 11.1 8,730 6.8 5,581 4.3

2017 127,272 112,254 88.2 15,018 11.8 9,261 7.3 5,757 4.5

2016 126,401 110,850 87.7 15,551 12.3 9,413 7.4 6,138 4.9

2015 125,164 109,315 87.3 15,849 12.7 9,540 7.7 6,309 5.0

2014 124,044 106,618 86.0 17,426 14.0 10,488 8.4 6,938 5.6

2013 122,579 105,070 85.7 17,509 14.3 10,664 8.7 6,845 5.6

2012 121,546 103,914 85.5 17,632 14.5 10,679 8.8 6,953 5.7

2011 119,484 101,631 85.1 17,853 14.9 11,014 9.2 6,839 5.7

2010 118,756 101,527 85.5 17,229 14.5 10,872 9.1 6,357 5.4

2009 118,174 100,820 85.3 17,354 14.7 10,601 9.0 6,753 5.7

2008 117,565 100,416 85.4 17,149 14.6 10,426 8.9 6,723 5.7

2007 117,100 104,089 88.9 13,011 11.1 8,262 7.0 4,749 4.1

2006 115,609 102,961 89.1 12,648 10.9 8,031 6.9 4,617 4.0

2005 114,437 101,851 89.0 12,586 11.0 8,158 7.1 4,428 3.9

2004 112,967 99,473 88.1 13,494 11.9 9,045 8.0 4,449 3.9

2003 112,214 99,631 88.8 12,583 11.2 8,663 7.7 3,920 3.5

2002 108,601 96,543 88.9 12,058 11.1 8,259 7.6 3,799 3.5

2001 107,824 96,303 89.3 11,521 10.7 8,010 7.4 3,511 3.3

2000 106,043 94,942 89.5 11,101 10.5 7,786 7.3 3,315 3.1

1999 104,684 94,154 89.9 10,529 10.1 7,420 7.1 3,109 3.0

1998 103,309 91,121 88.2 12,188 11.8 8,353 8.1 3,835 3.7

All individuals (by food security status of household):2

2019 324,235 289,028 89.1 35,207 10.9 23,362 7.2 11,845 3.7

2018 323,005 285,778 88.5 37,227 11.5 24,577 7.6 12,650 3.9

2017 320,418 280,374 87.5 40,044 12.5 27,159 8.5 12,885 4.0

2016 319,029 277,825 87.1 41,204 12.9 26,556 8.3 14,648 4.6

2015 316,161 273,923 86.6 42,238 13.4 27,605 8.7 14,633 4.6

2014 313,305 265,170 84.6 48,135 15.4 30,922 9.9 17,213 5.5

2013 310,853 261,775 84.2 49,078 15.8 31,974 10.3 17,104 5.5

2012 308,361 259,395 84.1 48,966 15.9 31,787 10.3 17,179 5.6

2011 305,893 255,773 83.6 50,120 16.4 33,232 10.9 16,888 5.5

2010 304,034 255,202 83.9 48,832 16.1 32,777 10.8 16,055 5.3

2009 301,750 251,588 83.4 50,162 16.6 32,499 10.8 17,663 5.9

2008 299,567 250,459 83.6 49,108 16.4 31,824 10.6 17,284 5.8

2007 297,042 260,813 87.8 36,229 12.2 24,287 8.2 11,942 4.0

2006 294,010 258,495 87.9 35,515 12.1 24,395 8.3 11,120 3.8

2005 291,501 256,373 87.9 35,128 12.1 24,349 8.4 10,779 3.7

2004 288,603 250,407 86.8 38,196 13.2 27,535 9.5 10,661 3.7

2003 286,410 250,155 87.3 36,255 12.7 26,622 9.3 9,633 3.4

2002 279,035 244,133 87.5 34,902 12.5 25,517 9.1 9,385 3.4

2001 276,661 243,019 87.8 33,642 12.2 24,628 8.9 9,014 3.3

2000 273,685 240,454 87.9 33,231 12.1 24,708 9.0 8,523 3.1

1999 270,318 239,304 88.5 31,015 11.5 23,237 8.6 7,779 2.9

1998 268,366 232,219 86.5 36,147 13.5 26,290 9.8 9,857 3.7

Continued—
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Table 1A

Households and individuals by food security status of household, 1998-2019—continued

Food insecure

Category

and year Total1 Food secure All

With low 

food security

With very low 

food security

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

Adults (by food security status of household):2

2019 250,956 226,481 90.2 24,475 9.8 15,495 6.2 8,980 3.6

2018 249,443 223,390 89.6 26,053 10.4 16,576 6.6 9,477 3.8

2017 246,517 219,013 88.8 27,504 11.2 17,796 7.2 9,708 3.9

2016 245,200 216,934 88.5 28,266 11.5 17,498 7.1 10,768 4.4

2015 242,706 213,586 88.0 29,120 12.0 18,235 7.5 10,885 4.5

2014 239,937 207,125 86.3 32,812 13.7 20,425 8.5 12,387 5.2

2013 237,219 203,913 86.0 33,306 14.0 21,115 8.9 12,191 5.1

2012 234,730 201,662 85.9 33,068 14.1 20,708 8.8 12,359 5.3

2011 231,385 197,923 85.5 33,462 14.5 21,371 9.2 12,091 5.2

2010 229,129 196,505 85.8 32,624 14.2 21,357 9.3 11,267 4.9

2009 227,543 194,579 85.5 32,964 14.5 20,741 9.1 12,223 5.4

2008 225,461 193,026 85.6 32,435 14.4 20,320 9.0 12,115 5.4

2007 223,467 199,672 89.4 23,795 10.6 15,602 7.0 8,193 3.7

2006 220,423 197,536 89.6 22,887 10.4 15,193 6.9 7,694 3.5

2005 217,897 195,172 89.6 22,725 10.4 15,146 7.0 7,579 3.5

2004 215,564 191,236 88.7 24,328 11.3 16,946 7.9 7,382 3.4

2003 213,441 190,451 89.2 22,990 10.8 16,358 7.7 6,632 3.1

2002 206,493 184,718 89.5 21,775 10.5 15,486 7.5 6,289 3.0

2001 204,340 183,398 89.8 20,942 10.2 14,879 7.3 6,063 3.0

2000 201,922 181,586 89.9 20,336 10.1 14,763 7.3 5,573 2.8

1999 198,900 179,960 90.5 18,941 9.5 13,869 7.0 5,072 2.5

1998 197,084 174,964 88.8 22,120 11.2 15,632 7.9 6,488 3.3

1Totals exclude households for which food security status is unknown because household respondents did not give a valid response to any of the 

questions in the food security scale. In 2019, these exclusions represented 306,000 households (0.2 percent of all households).

2The food security survey measures food security status at the household level. Not all individuals residing in food-insecure households were 

directly affected by the households’ food insecurity. Similarly, not all individuals in households classified as having very low food security were 

subject to the reductions in food intake and disruptions in eating patterns that characterize this condition. Young children, in particular, are often 

protected from effects of the households’ food insecurity.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 

Food Security Supplement.

Figure 2

U.S. households with children by food security status of adults and children, 2019

Food-insecure households—13.6%

Food-insecure

children and 

adults—6.5%

Food-insecure adults only—7.1%

Low food security among children—5.9%

Very low food security among children—0.6%

Food-secure 

households—86.4%

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current 

Population Survey Food Security Supplement
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Table 1B

Households with children by food security status and children by food security status of household, 1998-2019

Category

and year Total1

Food-secure

households

Food-insecure

households2

Households with foodinsecure children3Households with very low 

food security among children

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

Households with children:

2019 37,614 32,480 86.4 5,134 13.6 2,434 6.5 213 0.6 

2018 37,612 32,369 86.1 5,243 13.9 2,658 7.1 220 0.6

2017 37,942 31,975 84.3 5,967 15.7 2,926 7.7 250 0.7

2016 38,400 32,058 83.5 6,342 16.5 3,069 8.0 298 0.8

2015 38,978 32,519 83.4 6,459 16.6 3,022 7.8 274 0.7

2014 39,079 31,590 80.8 7,489 19.2 3,665 9.4 422 1.1

2013 38,486 30,978 80.5 7,508 19.5 3,814 9.9 360 0.9

2012 39,201 31,354 80.0 7,847 20.0 3,910 10.0 463 1.2

2011 38,803 30,814 79.4 7,989 20.6 3,862 10.0 374 1.0

2010 39,419 31,447 79.8 7,972 20.2 3,861 9.8 386 1.0

2009 39,525 31,114 78.7 8,411 21.3 4,208 10.6 469 1.2

2008 39,699 31,364 79.0 8,335 21.0 4,361 11.0 506 1.3

2007 39,390 33,160 84.2 6,230 15.8 3,273 8.3 323 0.8

2006 39,436 33,279 84.4 6,157 15.6 3,312 8.4 221 0.6

2005 39,601 33,404 84.4 6,197 15.6 3,244 8.2 270 0.7

2004 39,990 32,967 82.4 7,023 17.6 3,808 9.5 274 0.7

2003 40,286 33,575 83.3 6,711 16.7 3,606 9.0 207 0.5

2002 38,647 32,267 83.5 6,380 16.5 3,456 8.9 265 0.7

2001 38,330 32,141 83.9 6,189 16.1 3,225 8.4 211 0.6

2000 38,113 31,942 83.8 6,171 16.2 3,282 8.6 255 0.7

1999 37,884 32,290 85.2 5,594 14.8 3,089 8.2 219 0.6

1998 38,036 31,335 82.4 6,701 17.6 3,627 9.5 331 0.9

Children (by food security status of household):4

2019 73,279 62,547 85.4 10,732 14.6 5,332 7.3 361 0.5

2018 73,562 62,388 84.8 11,174 15.2 5,999 8.2 540 0.7

2017 73,901 61,361 83.0 12,540 17.0 6,541 8.9 540 0.7

2016 73,829 60,891 82.5 12,938 17.5 6,519 8.8 703 1.0

2015 73,455 60,337 82.1 13,118 17.9 6,377 8.7 541 0.7

2014 73,368 58,045 79.1 15,323 20.9 7,949 10.8 914 1.2

2013 73,634 57,862 78.6 15,772 21.4 8,585 11.7 765 1.0

2012 73,631 57,733 78.4 15,898 21.6 8,290 11.3 977 1.3

2011 74,508 57,850 77.6 16,658 22.4 8,565 11.5 845 1.1

2010 74,905 58,697 78.4 16,208 21.6 8,458 11.3 976 1.3

2009 74,207 57,010 76.8 17,197 23.2 8,957 12.1 988 1.3

2008 74,106 57,433 77.5 16,673 22.5 9,098 12.3 1,077 1.5

2007 73,575 61,140 83.1 12,435 16.9 6,766 9.2 691 0.9

2006 73,587 60,959 82.8 12,628 17.2 7,065 9.6 430 0.6

2005 73,604 61,201 83.1 12,403 16.9 6,718 9.1 606 0.8

2004 73,039 59,171 81.0 13,868 19.0 7,823 10.7 545 0.7

2003 72,969 59,704 81.8 13,265 18.2 7,388 10.1 420 0.6

2002 72,542 59,415 81.9 13,127 18.1 7,397 10.2 567 0.8

2001 72,321 59,620 82.4 12,701 17.6 6,866 9.5 467 0.6

2000 71,763 58,867 82.0 12,896 18.0 7,018 9.8 562 0.8

1999 71,418 59,344 83.1 12,074 16.9 6,996 9.8 511 0.7

1998 71,282 57,255 80.3 14,027 19.7 7,840 11.0 716 1.0

1Totals exclude households for which food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the 

food security scale. In 2019, these exclusions represented 85,000 households with children (0.2 percent of all households with children). Children 

are age 0-17. 

2Food-insecure households are those with low or very low food security among adults or children or both.

3In some food-insecure households with children, only adults were food insecure. Households with food-insecure children are those with low or 

very low food security among children. 

4The food security survey measures food security status at the household level. Not all children residing in food-insecure households were directly 

affected by the households’ food insecurity. Similarly, not all children in households classified as having very low food security among children 

were subject to the reductions in food intake and disruptions in eating patterns that characterize this condition. Young children, in particular, are 

often protected from effects of the households’ food insecurity.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 

Food Security Supplement
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In 2019, 35.2 million people lived in food-insecure households (table 1A, middle panel). They 

constituted 10.9 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population and included 24.5 

million adults (table 1A, bottom panel) and 10.7 million children (table 1B, bottom panel). About 

5.3 million children (7.3 percent of children) lived in households in which one or more child was 

food insecure. About 9.0 million adults (3.6 percent of adults) lived in households with very low 

food security (table 1A), and 361,000 children (0.5 percent of children) lived in households with 

very low food security among children (table 1B, bottom panel).

Statistical Supplement tables S-2 and S-3 present estimates of the number of people and the number of 

children in households in each food security status and household type (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). 

When interpreting food security statistics in this report, bear in mind that households were classified 

as having low or very low food security based on their experience of the conditions indicated in the 

module at any time during the previous 12 months. The prevalence of these conditions on any given 

day is far below the corresponding annual prevalence. For example, the prevalence of very low food 

security during the 30 days prior to the December 2019 survey is 2.3 percent (table S-4 in ColemanJensen et al., 2020). Most households that reported experiencing food-insecure conditions during the 

previous 30 days reported experiencing the conditions in 1 to 7 days during the month (see table S-9 

in Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020; and see box, “When Food Insecurity Occurs in U.S. Households, It 

Is Usually Recurrent But Not Constant,” on page 14).13

There was a statistically significant decline in the prevalence of food insecurity from 11.1 percent 

in 2018 to 10.5 percent in 2019 (fig. 3, table 1A). This continues the eighth year of declining 

food insecurity from a high of 14.9 percent in 2011. It is the first year that food insecurity was 

statistically significantly below the 11.1 percent pre-recession level of 2007. Year-to-year declines in 

food insecurity from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 through 2018 were also statistically significant. Some 

year-to-year changes were not statistically significant; that is, the changes were within the range that 

could have resulted from sampling variation. The cumulative decline from 2011 (14.9 percent) to 

2014 (14.0 percent) was statistically significant. In the previous decade, food insecurity increased 

from 10.7 percent in 2001 to 11.9 percent in 2004, declined to about 11 percent in 2005-07, then 

increased significantly in 2008 (to 14.6 percent), and remained essentially unchanged (that is, the 

difference was not statistically significant) at that level in 2009 and 2010.

13ERS is no longer providing an estimated average daily prevalence of very low food security. This is because of a 

change in Census processing of continuous variables to reduce the risk of disclosure related to a small number of households 

reporting a single value. Beginning with the 2019 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data, all continuous 

variables for the number of days out of the previous 30 days that food-insecure conditions occurred are only released after being categorized into ranges of number of days. Those categorical variables result in less precise estimates of the average daily 

prevalence of food insecurity. See table S-9 in the online Statistical Supplement for the percent of households reporting each 

of the food-insecure conditions in increments of 1 to 7 days, 8 to 14 days, and 15 to 30 days (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). In 

prior annual food security reports, average daily prevalence of the various behaviors, experiences, and conditions characterizing very low food security was calculated based on the proportion of households reporting the condition at any time during 

the previous 30 days and the average number of days in which the condition occurred. The average daily prevalence for each 

condition was calculated as the product of the 30-day prevalence and the average number of days experienced divided by 30. 

The ratio of daily prevalence to monthly prevalence of the various indicator conditions provided the basis for approximating 

the average daily prevalence of very low food security during the reference 30-day period. The daily rate of very low food 

security was expressed as a range whose lower and upper bounds were based on the minimum and maximum ratio of daily 

prevalence to 30-day prevalence. 
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Figure 3

Trends in the prevalence of food insecurity and very low food security in U.S. households, 

2001-2019

Percent of households

Food insecurity

(including low and very low food security)

Very low food security

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

The prevalence of very low food security in 2019 (4.1 percent) was not significantly different from 

the prevalence in 2018 (4.3 percent; fig. 3, table 1A). The 2019 very low food security prevalence of 

4.1 percent was significantly lower than the 2017 prevalence of 4.5 percent. There were statistically 

significant year-to-year declines in very low food security from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2017. 

The prevalence of very low food security had been essentially unchanged from 2011 (5.7 percent) 

through 2014. The prevalence of very low food security was also 5.7 percent in 2008 and 2009. 

Prior to 2008, the prevalence of very low food security increased from 3.3 percent in 2001 to 3.9 

percent in 2004 and remained essentially unchanged through 2007 (4.1 percent). 

The prevalence of food insecurity in households with children was essentially unchanged from 2018 

(13.9 percent) to 2019 (13.6 percent; fig. 4, table 1B). Food insecurity in households with children 

in 2018 and 2019 was lower than in any other years back to 1998. From 2017 to 2018, there was a 

statistically significant decline from 15.7 percent to 13.9 percent in the prevalence of food insecurity 

in households with children. The percentage of households with food insecurity among children in 

2019 (6.5 percent) was not significantly different from the prevalence in 2018 but was significantly 

lower than the prevalence in 2017 (7.7 percent) and was also at the lowest level compared with any 

year back to 1998. The percentage of households with very low food security among children was 

unchanged from 2018 to 2019 (0.6 percent) and was not statistically significantly different from the 

prevalence in 2015 through 2017, or in 1999 through 2007, but was significantly lower in 2019 than 

in any year from 2008 through 2014. 
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Figure 4

Trends in the prevalence of food insecurity in households with children, 2001-2019

Percent of households with children

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Food insecurity in households

with children 

Food insecurity among children

Very low food security among children

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity by Selected Household Characteristics

The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably in 2019 among households with different 

demographic and economic characteristics (table 2). Differences in food security across demographic 

and geographic groups reflect, in part, differences in income across those groups; although no 

adjustment is made for income in the statistics presented in this report, food insecurity was strongly 

associated with income. For example, 34.9 percent of households with annual incomes below the 

official poverty line (household income-to-poverty ratio under 1.00) were food insecure, compared 

with just 5.1 percent of those with incomes at or above 185 percent of the poverty line.14 (Table S-1 in 

the Statistical Supplement (Coleman-Jensen at al., 2020) shows food insecurity by selected household 

characteristics for households with annual income below 130 percent of the poverty line.)

Rates of food insecurity were statistically significantly below the national average of 10.5 percent 

for married-couple families with children (7.5 percent); households with no children (9.3 percent), 

especially those with more than one adult and no children (6.7 percent); households with elderly 

persons (7.2 percent); and the elderly living alone (8.7 percent).15 The prevalence of food insecurity 

was also below the national average for households headed by White, non-Hispanic adults (7.9 

percent) and those with incomes at or above 185 percent of poverty (5.1 percent). 

14The Federal poverty line was $25,926 for a family of four (two adults and two children) in 2019.

15“Elderly” in this report refers to persons age 65 and older.
14

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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. The food security 

measurement methods used in this report are designed 

to register these occasional or episodic occurrences. The 

questions used to assess households’ food security status 

ask whether a condition, experience, or behavior occurred 

at any time in the past 12 months, and households can 

be classified as having very low food security based on a 

single, severe episode during the year. Readers should be 

mindful of this when interpreting food insecurity statistics. 

Analyses of additional information collected in the food 

security survey on how frequently various food-insecure 

conditions occurred during the year, whether they occurred 

during the 30 days prior to the survey, and, if so, in how 

many days provide insight into the frequency and duration 

of food insecurity in U.S. households. These analyses reveal 

that in 2019:

• About one-fourth of U.S. households with very 

low food security at any time during the year 

experienced the associated conditions rarely or 

occasionally—in only 1 or 2 months of the year. 

Three-fourths of respondent households experienced 

the conditions recurrently, in 3 or more months of 

the year.

• About one-fourth of food-insecure households 

and one-third of those with very low food security 

experienced the associated conditions frequently or 

chronically. That is, the conditions occurred often, or 

almost every month.

• On average, households that were food insecure at 

some time during the year were food insecure in 7 

months during the year. During the 30-day period 

ending in mid-December 2019, 7.1 million households (5.5 percent of all households) were food insecure—about 52 percent of the number that were food 

insecure at any time during the year (see Statistical 

Supplement table S-4, Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). 

• Similarly, households with very low food security 

at some time during the year experienced the associated conditions, on average, in 7 months during 

the year. During the 30-day period ending in midDecember 2019, 3.0 million households (2.3 percent 

of all households) had very low food security—about 

56 percent of the number with very low food security at some time during the year (see Statistical 

Supplement table S-4). 

• Most households that had very low food security at 

some time during a month experienced the associated conditions in 1 to 7 days of the month (see footnote 12). 

• The omission of homeless families and individuals 

from these daily statistics biases the statistics 

downward, and the bias may be substantial relative to the estimates, especially for the most severe 

conditions.

(Statistical Supplement tables S-7 to S-9 (ColemanJensen et al., 2019) provide information on how often 

conditions indicating food insecurity occurred, as 

reported by respondents to the December 2019 Food 

Security Supplement. See Nord et al. (2000) for more 

information about the frequency of food insecurity. 

See Ryu and Bartfeld (2012) and Wilde et al. (2010) 

for more information about longer-term patterns of 

food insecurity.)

Prevalence of food insecurity and very low food 

security, by reference period (2019)

Percent of households

Food insecurity

Very low food security

10.5

5.5

4.1

2.3

Any time during year Any time during 30 days

prior to survey

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from 

U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

When Food Insecurity Occurs in U.S. Households, 

It Is Usually Recurrent but Not Constant
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Table 2

Households by food security status and selected household characteristics, 2019

Food insecure

Category Total1 Food secure All

With low 

food security

With very low 

food security

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

All households 129,621 115,959 89.5 13,662 10.5 8,340 6.4 5,322 4.1

Household composition:

With children < 18 yrs 37,614 32,480 86.4 5,134 13.6 3,677 9.7 1,457 3.9

With children < 6 yrs 16,115 13,783 85.5 2,332 14.5 1,736 10.8 596 3.7

Married-couple families 24,382 22,543 92.5 1,839 7.5 1,494 6.1 345 1.4

Female head, no spouse 9,349 6,663 71.3 2,686 28.7 1,790 19.1 896 9.6

Male head, no spouse 3,311 2,802 84.6 509 15.4 313 9.5 196 5.9

Other household with child2 572 472 82.5 100 17.5 NA NA NA NA

With no children < 18 yrs 92,007 83,479 90.7 8,528 9.3 4,663 5.1 3,865 4.2

More than one adult 54,420 50,762 93.3 3,658 6.7 2,185 4.0 1,473 2.7

Women living alone 20,886 18,161 87.0 2,725 13.0 1,386 6.6 1,339 6.4

Men living alone 16,701 14,556 87.2 2,145 12.8 1,092 6.5 1,053 6.3

With elderly 40,220 37,318 92.8 2,902 7.2 1,842 4.6 1,060 2.6

Elderly living alone 15,329 13,996 91.3 1,333 8.7 801 5.2 532 3.5

Race/ethnicity of households:

White, non-Hispanic 85,196 78,438 92.1 6,758 7.9 3,966 4.6 2,792 3.3

Black, non-Hispanic 16,504 13,356 80.9 3,148 19.1 1,891 11.5 1,257 7.6

Hispanic3 18,035 15,216 84.4 2,819 15.6 1,937 10.7 882 4.9

Other, non-Hispanic 9,886 8,949 90.5 937 9.5 546 5.5 391 4.0

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

Under 1.00 11,208 7,301 65.1 3,907 34.9 2,167 19.4 1,740 15.5

Under 1.30 15,848 10,615 67.0 5,233 33.0 3,002 18.9 2,231 14.1

Under 1.85 26,604 19,248 72.4 7,356 27.6 4,384 16.4 2,972 11.2

1.85 and over 70,457 66,880 94.9 3,577 5.1 2,387 3.4 1,190 1.7

Income unknown 32,560 29,832 91.6 2,728 8.4 1,569 4.8 1,159 3.6

Area of residence:4

Inside metropolitan area 111,547 100,071 89.7 11,476 10.3 6,990 6.3 4,486 4.0

In principal cities5 38,411 33,662 87.6 4,749 12.4 2,875 7.5 1,874 4.9

Not in principal cities 55,517 50,923 91.7 4,594 8.3 2,867 5.2 1,727 3.1

Outside metropolitan area 18,073 15,887 87.9 2,186 12.1 1,350 7.5 836 4.6

Census geographic region:

Northeast 22,293 20,154 90.4 2,139 9.6 1,303 5.8 836 3.8

Midwest 27,894 24,956 89.5 2,938 10.5 1,778 6.3 1,160 4.2

South 50,136 44,527 88.8 5,609 11.2 3,352 6.7 2,257 4.5

West 29,298 26,322 89.8 2,976 10.2 1,907 6.6 1,069 3.6

NA = Not reported; fewer than 10 households in the survey with this characteristic had very low food security.

1Totals exclude households for which food security status is unknown because household respondents did not give a valid response to any of the 

questions in the food security scale. In 2019, these exclusions represented 306,000 households (0.2 percent of all households).

2Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.

3Hispanics may be of any race.

4Metropolitan area residence is based on 2013 Office of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2014 and later but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 

5Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identified for about 16 percent of households in metropolitan statistical areas.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current Population 

Survey Food Security Supplement.
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Rates of food insecurity in 2019 were statistically significantly higher than the national average 

(10.5 percent) for the following groups: 

• All households with children (13.6 percent)16

• Households with children under age 6 (14.5 percent) 

• Households with children headed by a single woman (28.7 percent) or a single man (15.4 

percent)17 and other households with children (17.5 percent)

• Women living alone (13.0 percent) and men living alone (12.8 percent)

• Households with Black, non-Hispanic (19.1 percent) and Hispanic (15.6 percent)

household reference persons18

• Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold (27.6 percent).

Across residential classifications, food insecurity was higher in principal cities of metropolitan areas 

(12.4 percent) and nonmetropolitan (rural) areas (12.1 percent) than in suburbs/exurbs and other 

metropolitan areas outside principal cities (8.3 percent).19 Compared with the national average, food 

insecurity was significantly higher in principal cities and nonmetropolitan areas, but significantly 

lower in metropolitan areas outside principal cities. Regionally, the prevalence of food insecurity 

in the Northeast (9.6 percent) was significantly below the U.S. average, while the prevalence in the 

South (11.2 percent) was significantly above the U.S. average. The prevalence of food insecurity was 

significantly higher in the South than in the Northeast or West (10.2 percent). The difference in food 

insecurity between the South and Midwest (10.5 percent) was not statistically significant (table 2).

Statistics in table 2 can also be used to calculate the share that each demographic group contributes 

to the population of food-insecure households. Among all food-insecure households in 2019, 37.6 

percent were households with children, 19.7 percent were female-headed households with children, 

and 13.5 percent were married-couple households with children.20 Among all food-insecure 

households in 2019, 62.4 percent were households with no children. About 21.2 percent of all 

16About 44 percent of the difference in food insecurity between households with and without children results from a difference in the measures applied to the two types of households. Responses to questions about children and adults are considered in assessing the food security status of households with children. However, for both types of households, a total of three 

indications of food insecurity is required for classification as food insecure. Even with the child-referenced questions omitted 

from the scale, in 2019, 11.7 percent of households with children would be classified as food insecure (that is, as having food 

insecurity among adults), compared with 9.3 percent for households without children. Comparisons of very low food security 

are not biased substantially by this measurement issue because a higher threshold is applied to households with children, consistent with the larger number of questions taken into consideration (Nord and Coleman-Jensen, 2014). See Coleman-Jensen, 

Rabbitt, and Gregory (2017) for a discussion of a comparable classification method for households with and without children. 

17Some households with children headed by a single woman or a single man as classified for these analyses included 

other adults, who may have been parents, siblings, cohabiting partners, adult children, other relatives of the reference person, 

or unrelated roomers or boarders.

18The “household reference person” refers to the person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. If the house 

is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the household reference person may be either the husband or wife. Previously 

the household reference person was referred to as the household head. 

19Revised metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and principal cities within them were delineated by the Office of Management and Budget in 2013, based on revised standards developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in collaboration with other 

Federal agencies. Census implemented the revised delineations beginning with the 2014 Current Population Survey Food 

Security Supplement. Food security prevalence statistics by area of residence for 2014 and later are comparable but are not 

precisely comparable with corresponding statistics from earlier years. Principal cities include the incorporated areas of the 

largest city in each MSA and other cities in the MSA that meet specified criteria based on population size and commuting 

patterns. 

20For example, the share of food-insecure households that are female-headed households with children can be calculated 

as (2,686/13,662) = 0.197. Similarly, the share of food-insecure households that are married-couple households with children 

is (1,839/13,662) = 0.135.
17

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food-insecure households included elderly adults. Low-income households with reported incomes 

below 185 percent of the poverty threshold made up the majority of food-insecure households, 53.8 

percent. Households with reported incomes at or above 185 percent of poverty made up 26.2 percent 

of all food-insecure households, and households with unknown income made up the remaining 20 

percent of all food-insecure households in 2019. 

The prevalence of very low food security in various types of households followed a pattern similar 

to that observed for food insecurity (table 2). Percentages were statistically significantly lower than 

the 2019 national average of 4.1 percent for married couples with children (1.4 percent); multipleadult households with no children (2.7 percent); households with elderly persons (2.6 percent); 

elderly living alone (3.5 percent); households headed by White, non-Hispanics (3.3 percent); 

households with incomes at or above 185 percent of the poverty line (1.7 percent); households in 

suburbs and exurbs outside principal cities within metropolitan areas (3.1 percent); and households 

in the West (3.6 percent).

The prevalence of very low food security was statistically significantly higher than the national 

average (4.1 percent) for the following groups: 

• Households with children headed by a single woman (9.6 percent) 

• Women living alone (6.4 percent) and men living alone (6.3 percent)

• Households with reference persons who are Black, non-Hispanic (7.6 percent) and Hispanic 

(4.9 percent)

• Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line (11.2 percent)

• Households located in principal cities (4.9 percent). 

In 6.5 percent of households with children, one or more child was food insecure in 2019 (table 

3).21 Among household categories, the percentage of households with food-insecure children was 

significantly lower in married-couple households (3.2 percent); households with a White, nonHispanic reference person (5.0 percent); households with a non-Hispanic reference person of other, 

or multiple, races (4.5 percent); households with incomes at or above 185 percent of the poverty line 

(2.2 percent); and metropolitan households located in suburbs and exurbs outside of principal cities 

(4.8 percent). The percentage of households with food-insecure children was significantly higher for 

female-headed households (15.3 percent); households with a Black, non-Hispanic reference person 

(11.9 percent); households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line (15.8 percent); and 

households in principal cities (7.9 percent).

21Households are classified as having food insecurity among children if they report two or more food-insecure conditions 

among children in response to questions 11-18 in box on page 5.
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Table 3

Prevalence of food security and food insecurity in households with children by selected household 

characteristics, 2019

Category Total1

Food-secure

households

Food-insecure

households2

Households with

food-insecure

children3

Households with 

very low 

food security

among children

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

All households with children 37,614 32,480 86.4 5,134 13.6 2,434 6.5 213 0.6 

Household composition:

With children < 6 yrs 16,115 13,784 85.5 2,331 14.5 993 6.2 79 0.5 

Married-couple families 24,382 22,542 92.5 1,840 7.5 781 3.2 49 0.2 

Female head, no spouse 9,349 6,663 71.3 2,686 28.7 1,431 15.3 148 1.6 

Male head, no spouse 3,311 2,802 84.6 509 15.4 216 6.5 NA NA 

Other household with child4 572 472 82.5 100 17.5 NA NA NA NA 

Race/ethnicity of households:

White, non-Hispanic 21,161 18,900 89.3 2,261 10.7 1,054 5.0 58 0.3 

Black, non-Hispanic 5,241 4,035 77.0 1,206 23.0 623 11.9 87 1.7 

Hispanic5 7,750 6,431 83.0 1,319 17.0 601 7.8 NA NA 

Other, non-Hispanic 3,463 3,115 90.0 348 10.0 157 4.5 NA NA 

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

Under 1.00 4,212 2,650 62.9 1,562 37.1 819 19.4 62 1.5 

Under 1.30 6,451 4,192 65.0 2,259 35.0 1,192 18.5 90 1.4 

Under 1.85 10,179 7,078 69.5 3,101 30.5 1,606 15.8 149 1.5 

1.85 and over 19,645 18,526 94.3 1,119 5.7 433 2.2 NA NA 

Income unknown 7,791 6,877 88.3 914 11.7 396 5.1 NA NA 

Area of residence:6

Inside metropolitan area 32,764 28,407 86.7 4,357 13.3 2,058 6.3 181 0.6 

In principal cities7 10,439 8,743 83.8 1,696 16.2 828 7.9 91 0.9 

Not in principal cities 17,296 15,469 89.4 1,827 10.6 829 4.8 NA NA 

Outside metropolitan area 4,851 4,073 84.0 778 16.0 376 7.8 32 0.7 

Census geographic region:

Northeast 6,233 5,384 86.4 849 13.6 414 6.6 NA NA 

Midwest 7,867 6,722 85.4 1,145 14.6 527 6.7 NA NA 

South 14,888 12,860 86.4 2,028 13.6 927 6.2 81 0.5 

West 8,626 7,514 87.1 1,112 12.9 565 6.5 35 0.4 

NA = Not reported; fewer than 10 households in the survey with this characteristic had food insecurity among children or very low food 

security among children.

1Totals exclude households for which food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2019, these exclusions represented 85,000 households with children (0.2 percent of all households 

with children). 

2Food-insecure households are those with low or very low food security among adults or children or both.

3In some food-insecure households with children, only adults were food insecure. Households with food-insecure children are those 

with low or very low food security among children.

4Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.

5Hispanics may be of any race. 

6Metropolitan area residence is based on 2013 Office of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence 

are comparable with those for 2014 and later but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 

7Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is 

not identified for about 15 percent of households with children in metropolitan statistical areas.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current 

Population Survey Food Security Supplement.
19

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Compared with the prevalence for all households with children in 2019 (0.6 percent), very low 

food security among children was significantly less prevalent in married-couple families (0.2 

percent) and households with a White, non-Hispanic reference person (0.3 percent). Very low food 

security among children in 2019 was significantly more prevalent in households headed by a single 

woman (1.6 percent); households with a Black, non-Hispanic reference person (1.7 percent); and 

households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line (1.5 percent). 

The prevalence of food insecurity declined from 2018 to 2019 for a number of population subgroups 

(fig 5).22 Food insecurity declined significantly for households with no children (from 9.9 percent 

in 2018 to 9.3 percent in 2019) and households with multiple adults and no children (7.5 percent 

to 6.7 percent). Food insecurity also declined for households with a Black, non-Hispanic reference 

person (21.2 percent to 19.1 percent), households with incomes below 185 percent of poverty (29.1 

percent to 27.6 percent), and households in the South (12.0 percent to 11.2 percent). There were no 

statistically significant increases in food insecurity between 2018 and 2019.

The prevalence of very low food security (fig. 6) declined significantly from 2018 to 2019 only in 

households with a Black, non-Hispanic reference person (from 9.1 percent in 2018 to 7.6 percent in 

2019). There were no statistically significant increases in very low food security from 2018 to 2019.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity by State 

The prevalence of food insecurity varies considerably by State. In addition to household-level 

characteristics such as income, employment, and household structure, the prevalence of food 

insecurity is also affected by State-level characteristics such as average wages, cost of housing, 

unemployment, and State-level policies that affect access to unemployment insurance, the State 

Earned Income Tax Credit, and nutrition assistance programs (Bartfeld et al., 2006; Bartfeld and 

Men, 2017). State-level estimates were obtained by averaging 3 years of data (2017-19) in order to 

have a larger sample size in each State to provide more reliable statistics (more precise estimates 

and more power to detect differences across States). Estimated prevalence rates of food insecurity 

during this 3-year period ranged from 6.6 percent in New Hampshire to 15.7 percent in Mississippi; 

estimated prevalence rates of very low food security ranged from 2.6 percent in New Hampshire to 

7.0 percent in Louisiana.23

The margin of error for State food insecurity rates should be considered when interpreting these 

statistics, especially when comparing prevalence rates across States. The margin of error reflects 

sampling variation—the uncertainty associated with estimates that are based on information from 

a limited number of households in each State.24 The margins of error presented in table 4 indicate 

the range (above or below the estimated prevalence rate) that is 90 percent likely to include the true 

prevalence rate. For example, considering the margins of error, it is not certain that the prevalence 

of very low food security was higher in Louisiana than in the States with the next eight highest 

prevalence rates.

22Estimates of food insecurity and very low food security for 2018 were published in Household Food Security in the 

United States in 2018 (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2019). 

23 A map of the States showing the prevalence of food insecurity for 2017-19 is available for download on the ERS website. 

24Margin of error is calculated as 1.645 times the standard error of the estimated prevalence rate. Standard errors were estimated using balanced repeated replication (BRR) methods based on replicate weights for the CPS Food Security Supplement.
20

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Figure 5

Prevalence of food insecurity, 2018 and 2019

0 10 20 30 40

All households

Household composition:

 With children < 18 yrs

 With children < 6 yrs

 Married-couple families

 Female head, no spouse

 Male head, no spouse

 With no children < 18 yrs

 More than one adult

 Women living alone

 Men living alone

 With elderly

 Elderly living alone

Race/ethnicity of household reference persons:

 White, non-Hispanic

 Black, non-Hispanic

 Hispanic

 Other, non-Hispanic

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

 Under 1.00

 Under 1.30

 Under 1.85

 1.85 and over

Area of residence:

 Inside metropolitan area

 In principal cities

 Not in principal cities

 Outside metropolitan area

Census geographic region:

 Northeast

 Midwest

 South

 West

Percent of households

2018

2019

*

*

*

*

*

*

*Change from 2018 to 2019 was statistically significant with 90-percent confidence (t > 1.645).

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 and 2019 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.
21

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Figure 6

Prevalence of very low food security, 2018 and 2019

0 5 10 15 20

*

All households

Household composition:

 With children < 18 yrs

 With children < 6 yrs

 Married-couple families

 Female head, no spouse

 Male head, no spouse

 With no children < 18 yrs

 More than one adult

 Women living alone

 Men living alone

 With elderly

 Elderly living alone

Race/ethnicity of household reference persons:

 White, non-Hispanic

 Black, non-Hispanic

 Hispanic

 Other, non-Hispanic

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

 Under 1.00

 Under 1.30

 Under 1.85

 1.85 and over

Area of residence:

 Inside metropolitan area

 In principal cities

 Not in principal cities

 Outside metropolitan area

Census geographic region:

 Northeast

 Midwest

 South

 West

2018

2019

Percent of households

*Change from 2018 to 2019 was statistically significant with 90-percent confidence (t > 1.645).

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 and 2019 

Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.
22

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Table 4

Prevalence of household food insecurity and very low food security by State, average 2017-19

Number of households

Food insecurity

(low or very low food security) Very low food security

States

Average 

2017-191 Interviewed Prevalence Margin of error2 Prevalence Margin of error2

Number Number Percent

Percentage 

points Percent

Percentage 

points

U.S. 128,713,000 108,756 11.1 0.19 4.3 0.13

AK 271,000 1,276 10.7 2.34 4.9 1.39

AL 1,985,000 2,009 13.9 * 2.31 5.9 * 1.33

AR 1,244,000 1,889 13.8 * 2.01 5.8 * 1.23

AZ 2,761,000 1,851 11.7 1.41 4.2 0.78

CA 14,047,000 8,615 9.9 * 0.64 3.6 * 0.38

CO 2,403,000 1,152 10.2 1.61 4.3 1.16

CT 1,399,000 983 12.9 2.34 4.5 1.30

DC 327,000 2,265 10.2 1.37 4.0 0.88

DE 375,000 1,130 10.2 1.84 4.2 1.15

FL 9,041,000 4,535 10.9 0.90 4.4 0.58

GA 4,051,000 2,532 10.0 1.51 3.6 0.90

HI 498,000 1,382 8.4 * 1.50 3.4 * 0.82

IA 1,320,000 1,355 7.9 * 1.33 3.6 0.92

ID 653,000 1,862 9.6 1.53 3.4 * 0.67

IL 4,996,000 3,068 9.9 * 1.17 3.8 0.67

IN 2,741,000 1,742 12.4 1.69 4.1 1.17

KS 1,139,000 1,454 12.5 2.15 5.5 1.30

KY 1,803,000 1,461 13.7 * 1.68 4.8 1.20

LA 1,866,000 2,467 15.3 * 1.34 7.0 * 1.03

MA 2,809,000 2,131 8.4 * 1.19 3.2 * 0.69

MD 2,367,000 1,323 10.1 1.78 5.0 1.33

ME 563,000 1,127 12.0 2.04 6.2 * 1.70

MI 4,111,000 2,458 12.2 1.57 4.7 0.98

MN 2,313,000 1,532 8.3 * 1.57 3.4 0.98

MO 2,490,000 1,694 11.7 1.62 4.4 0.97

MS 1,168,000 2,336 15.7 * 1.60 6.2 * 0.90

MT 458,000 2,214 10.0 1.62 3.9 0.78

NC 4,271,000 2,308 13.1 * 1.51 4.9 1.03

ND 324,000 1,687 8.3 * 1.20 2.8 * 0.78

NE 781,000 1,261 10.8 1.31 4.3 1.11

NH 538,000 1,533 6.6 * 1.43 2.6 * 0.85

NJ 3,384,000 2,053 7.7 * 1.30 3.0 * 0.71

NM 846,000 2,106 15.1 * 2.45 5.5 * 1.11

NV 1,151,000 1,390 12.8 1.85 5.5 1.44

NY 7,838,000 4,208 10.8 1.09 3.9 0.57

OH 4,782,000 3,022 12.6 * 1.38 5.4 * 0.88

OK 1,516,000 1,606 14.7 * 1.84 5.3 1.03

OR 1,709,000 1,751 9.8 1.46 4.3 1.17

PA 5,213,000 2,826 10.2 1.20 4.1 0.68

RI 430,000 1,015 9.1 * 1.84 3.1 * 1.10

SC 2,129,000 1,674 10.9 2.26 4.0 1.12

SD 357,000 1,341 10.9 1.61 4.7 1.29

TN 2,727,000 2,236 12.5 1.88 5.3 0.95

TX 10,440,000 5,729 13.1 * 1.04 4.9 * 0.60

UT 1,061,000 1,520 10.7 2.06 3.5 1.64

VA 3,351,000 2,042 9.2 * 1.37 3.9 0.88

VT 269,000 1,610 9.6 * 1.44 3.2 * 0.87

WA 3,013,000 2,134 9.9 1.37 3.5 0.88

WI 2,401,000 1,805 10.1 1.44 3.3 * 0.78

WV 749,000 2,400 15.4 * 2.26 5.9 * 1.20

WY 233,000 1,656 12.2 1.40 5.0 0.89

*Difference from U.S. average was statistically significant with 90-percent confidence (t > 1.645). Standard error of differences assumes that there 

is no correlation between national and individual State estimates.

1Totals exclude households for which food security status is unknown because household respondents did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. These exclusions represented about 0.3 percent of all households in 2017, 0.3 percent in 2018, and 0.2 percent in 2019.

2Margin of error with 90-percent confidence (1.645 times the standard error of the estimated prevalence rate). Standard errors were estimated 

using balanced repeated replication (BRR) methods based on replicate weights for the CPS Food Security Supplement.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2017, 2018, and 2019 Current 

Population Survey Food Security Supplements.
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Taking into account margins of error of the State and U.S. estimates, the prevalence of food 

insecurity was higher (i.e., statistically significantly higher) than the national average in 11 States 

(AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, NC, NM, OH, OK, TX, and WV) and lower than the national average in 12 

States (CA, HI, IA, IL, MA, MN, ND, NH, NJ, RI, VA, and VT).25 In the remaining 27 States and 

the District of Columbia, differences from the national average were not statistically significant. The 

prevalence of very low food security was higher than the national average in 9 States (AL, AR, LA, 

ME, MS, NM, OH, TX, and WV), lower than the national average in 10 States (CA, HI, ID, MA, 

ND, NH, NJ, RI, VT, and WI), and not significantly different from the national average in 31 States 

and the District of Columbia.

State-level rates of food insecurity and very low food security for 2017-19 are compared with 

2014-16 and 2007-09 averages in table 5. Prevalence rates for the preceding 3-year period, 2014-16, 

are from Household Food Security in the United States in 2016 (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2017). The 

2007-09 rates are from Household Food Security in the United States, 2009 (Nord et al., 2010) and 

are presented as a baseline to assess changes in State-level food security conditions over the past 

decade.26

There were no statistically significant increases in the State-level prevalence of food insecurity from 

2014-16 to 2017-19, while food insecurity declined significantly in 23 States (AL, AR, AZ, CA, 

GA, IA, ID, IN, KY, LA, MA, ME, MO, MS, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, and RI; table 

5). During the same period, the prevalence of very low food security declined significantly in 12 

States (AZ, GA, IN, KY, MA, MI, MO, MT, NJ, OR, RI, and WA), with no statistically significant 

increases. 

Examining a longer time period, there was a statistically significant percentage-point increase in the 

prevalence of food insecurity from 2007-09 to 2017-19 in two States (LA, WY), with statistically 

significant declines in 21 States and the District of Columbia (see table 5). The prevalence of very 

low food security increased significantly from 2007-09 to 2017-19 in two States (LA, WY), with 

statistically significant declines in 12 States. Changes not marked as statistically significant (*) in 

table 5 were within ranges that could have resulted from sampling variation (that is, a non-zero 

difference between sample estimates, based on the households that happen to be chosen for the 

sample, which is consistent with no actual change in food security in the State’s general population).

25Standard error of difference assumes that there is no correlation between national and individual State estimates.

26Prevalence rates for 1996-98 reported in Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Hunger, by State, 1996-1998 (Nord et al., 

1999) are not directly comparable with the rates reported here because of differences in screening procedures in the CPS 

Food Security Supplements from 1995 to 1998. Statistics for 1996-98, adjusted to be comparable with those for recent years, 

are presented in Statistical Supplement to Food Security in the United States in 2010, table S-4 (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2011). 

Standard errors of State-level estimates for 2007-09 were calculated using jackknife replication methods with “month-insample” groups considered as separate independent samples (see Nord et al., 1999). 
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Table 5

Change in prevalence of household food insecurity and very low food security by State, 2017-19 (average), 

2014-16 (average), and 2007-09 (average)1

States

Food insecurity (low or very low food security) Very low food security

Average 

2017-19

Average 

2014-16

Average 

2007-09

Change 

2014-16 to 

2017-19 

Change 

2007-09 to

2017-19

Average 

2017-19

Average 

2014-16

Average 

2007-09

Change 

2014-16 to 

2017-19 

Change 

2007-09 to

2017-19

————— Percent ————— Percentage points ————— Percent ————— Percentage points

U.S. 11.1 13.0 13.5 -1.9* -2.4 * 4.3 5.2 5.2 -0.9* -0.9*

AK 10.7 12.7 12.9 -2.0 -2.2 4.9 3.6 4.6 1.3 .3

AL 13.9 18.1 15.0 -4.2* -1.1 5.9 7.7 6.8 -1.8 -.9

AR 13.8 17.5 17.7 -3.7* -3.9 * 5.8 6.8 6.4 -1.0 -.6

AZ 11.7 14.6 14.5 -2.9* -2.8 * 4.2 5.8 5.3 -1.6* -1.1

CA 9.9 11.8 14.1 -1.9* -4.2 * 3.6 4.1 5.1 -.5 -1.5*

CO 10.2 10.3 12.2 -.1 -2.0 * 4.3 4.3 5.2 .0 -.9

CT 12.9 12.3 11.4 .6 1.5 4.5 6.4 4.6 -1.9 -.1

DC 10.2 11.4 12.9 -1.2 -2.7 * 4.0 4.0 4.5 .0 -.5

DE 10.2 10.8 9.5 -.6 .7 4.2 3.0 3.7 1.2 .5

FL 10.9 12.0 14.2 -1.1 -3.3 * 4.4 4.7 6.1 -.3 -1.7*

GA 10.0 14.0 15.6 -4.0* -5.6 * 3.6 5.6 5.9 -2.0* -2.3*

HI 8.4 8.7 11.4 -.3 -3.0 * 3.4 3.0 3.9 .4 -.5

IA 7.9 10.7 11.5 -2.8* -3.6 * 3.6 4.6 5.0 -1.0 -1.4*

ID 9.6 12.1 11.6 -2.5* -2.0 3.4 4.3 4.5 -.9 -1.1

IL 9.9 11.1 12.2 -1.2 -2.3 * 3.8 4.7 4.4 -.9 -.6

IN 12.4 15.2 12.3 -2.8* .1 4.1 6.8 4.8 -2.7* -.7

KS 12.5 14.5 14.2 -2.0 -1.7 5.5 5.5 4.8 .0 .7

KY 13.7 17.3 13.4 -3.6* .3 4.8 7.4 5.0 -2.6* -.2

LA 15.3 18.3 10.0 -3.0* 5.3 * 7.0 7.7 3.3 -.7 3.7*

MA 8.4 10.3 10.0 -1.9* -1.6 3.2 4.4 4.3 -1.2* -1.1

MD 10.1 10.1 11.1 .0 -1.0 5.0 3.9 4.3 1.1 .7

ME 12.0 16.4 14.8 -4.4* -2.8 * 6.2 7.4 6.7 -1.2 -.5

MI 12.2 14.3 13.4 -2.1 -1.2 4.7 6.2 5.0 -1.5* -.3

MN 8.3 9.7 10.5 -1.4 -2.2 * 3.4 3.6 4.1 -.2 -.7

MO 11.7 14.2 15.0 -2.5* -3.3 * 4.4 6.2 6.4 -1.8* -2.0*

MS 15.7 18.7 17.1 -3.0* -1.4 6.2 6.9 6.5 -.7 -.3

MT 10.0 12.9 12.4 -2.9* -2.4 * 3.9 5.7 5.0 -1.8* -1.1*

NC 13.1 15.1 14.8 -2.0 -1.7 4.9 5.7 5.0 -.8 -.1

ND 8.3 8.8 6.7 -.5 1.6 2.8 3.3 2.6 -.5 .2

NE 10.8 14.7 12.2 -3.9* -1.4 4.3 5.7 4.8 -1.4 -.5

NH 6.6 9.6 8.9 -3.0* -2.3 * 2.6 3.8 3.9 -1.2 -1.3*

NJ 7.7 11.1 11.5 -3.4* -3.8 * 3.0 4.1 4.0 -1.1* -1.0

NM 15.1 17.6 14.7 -2.5 .4 5.5 6.8 4.7 -1.3 .8

NV 12.8 12.1 12.8 .7 .0 5.5 4.7 4.9 .8 .6

NY 10.8 12.5 12.4 -1.7* -1.6 * 3.9 4.3 4.6 -.4 -.7

OH 12.6 14.8 14.8 -2.2* -2.2 5.4 6.3 6.1 -.9 -.7

OK 14.7 15.2 15.2 -.5 -.5 5.3 6.3 6.5 -1.0 -1.2

OR 9.8 14.6 13.9 -4.8* -4.1 * 4.3 6.2 6.6 -1.9* -2.3*

PA 10.2 12.5 11.8 -2.3* -1.6 4.1 4.5 4.4 -.4 -.3

RI 9.1 12.8 13.7 -3.7* -4.6 * 3.1 6.1 5.4 -3.0* -2.3*

SC 10.9 13.0 13.5 -2.1 -2.6 4.0 4.9 5.0 -.9 -1.0

SD 10.9 10.6 11.2 .3 -.3 4.7 4.2 4.8 .5 -.1

TN 12.5 13.4 15.1 -.9 -2.6 5.3 5.8 5.3 -.5 .0

TX 13.1 14.3 17.4 -1.2 -4.3 * 4.9 5.6 6.4 -.7 -1.5*

UT 10.7 11.5 11.8 -.8 -1.1 3.5 4.6 4.9 -1.1 -1.4

VA 9.2 9.9 9.2 -.7 .0 3.9 4.8 3.6 -.9 .3

VT 9.6 10.1 13.6 -.5 -4.0 * 3.2 4.3 6.2 -1.1 -3.0*

WA 9.9 11.6 14.0 -1.7 -4.1 * 3.5 4.8 5.8 -1.3* -2.3*

WI 10.1 10.7 11.4 -.6 -1.3 3.3 4.2 4.4 -.9 -1.1

WV 15.4 14.9 13.4 .5 2.0 5.9 6.2 5.3 -.3 .6

WY 12.2 12.7 9.8 -.5 2.4 * 5.0 4.9 3.6 .1 1.4*

 *Change was statistically significant with 90-percent confidence (t > 1.645). 

1Percentages exclude households for which food security status is unknown because household respondents did not give a valid response to any 

of the questions in the food security scale.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 

Food Security Supplements. 
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Household Spending on Food

Food insecurity is a condition that arises from a lack of money and other resources to acquire food. 

Most households purchase the majority of their food from supermarkets or grocery stores; some 

food also comes from cafeterias, restaurants, or vending machines. The amount of money a household spends on food thus indicates how adequately the household is meeting its food needs.27 When 

a household reduces food spending below some minimum level, such as USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, 

because of constrained resources, disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake may result. This 

section provides information on how much households spent on food, as reported in the December 

2019 Food Security Supplement. 

Methods

The household food expenditure statistics in this report are based on usual weekly spending for 

food, as reported by respondents after reflecting on the household’s actual food spending during the 

previous week. Respondents were first asked to report the amounts of money their households had 

spent on food in the week prior to the interview, including any purchases made with Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at:

• supermarkets and grocery stores; 

• stores other than supermarkets and grocery stores, such as meat markets, produce stands, 

bakeries, warehouse clubs, and convenience stores;

• restaurants, fast-food places, cafeterias, and vending machines; and

• “...any other kind of place.”28

27Food spending is only an indirect indicator of food consumption. It understates food consumption in households that receive food from in-kind programs, such as the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, WIC, meal programs 

for children in childcare and for the elderly, and private charitable organizations. Purchases with SNAP benefits, however, are 

counted as food spending in the CPS Food Security Supplement. Food spending also understates food consumption in households that acquire a substantial part of their food supply through gardening, hunting, or fishing, as well as in households that 

obtain groceries from friends or relatives or eat more meals at friends’ or relatives’ homes than they provide to friends or relatives. Food spending also understates food consumption in geographical areas with relatively low food prices and overstates 

consumption in areas with relatively high food prices.

28For spending in the first two categories of stores, respondents were also asked how much of the amount was for “nonfood items, such as pet food, paper products, alcohol, detergents, or cleaning supplies.” These amounts are subtracted from 

total spending at each of these stores to arrive at spending for food.
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Total spending for food, based on responses to this series of questions, was verified with the 

respondent, and the respondent was then asked how much the household usually spent on food 

during a week.29 ERS analyses have shown that usual food expenditures estimated from data 

collected by this method were consistent with estimates from the Consumer Expenditure Survey 

(CES)—the principal source of data on U.S. household expenditures for goods and services 

(Oliveira and Rose, 1996; Nord, 2009b).

Usual food spending was adjusted for household size and composition in two ways. First, we 

divided each household’s usual weekly food expenditure by the number of household members, 

yielding the “usual weekly food spending per person” for that household. The second adjustment 

accounts more precisely for the different food needs of households by comparing each household’s 

usual food spending to the estimated cost of the Thrifty Food Plan for that household in December 

2019.30 USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) serves as a national standard for a nutritious, minimal-cost 

diet. It represents a set of “market baskets” of food that people in specific age and gender categories 

could consume at home to maintain a healthful diet that meets current dietary standards, taking into 

account the food consumption patterns of U.S. households (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center 

for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2007).31 Each household’s reported usual weekly food spending 

was divided by the household-specific cost of the TFP, based on the age- and gender-specific cost of 

the TFP for each household member and the number of persons in the household (U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2020).32

The medians of each of the two food-spending measures (spending per person per week and total 

spending relative to the cost of the December 2019 TFP) were estimated at the national level and 

for households in various categories. Medians are reported rather than averages (means) because 

medians are not unduly affected by the few unexpectedly high values of usual food spending that 

are believed to be reporting or data-entry errors. Thus, the median better reflects what a typical 

household spent. 

29Beginning with the 2015 CPS Food Security Supplement, food-spending amounts are categorized in public-use data. 

Categorizing the dollar amounts reduces the risk of disclosure and is now standard for data collected by the U.S. Bureau 

of the Census. ERS analysis suggests this change has little effect on the estimates of median food spending reported in the 

annual food security reports. The tables presented in this section are based on the categorical food-spending data and are 

comparable to the 2016 estimates but are not precisely comparable with estimates published in prior annual food security 

reports. Changes in food spending from 2018 described in the text are based on comparable estimates of 2018 categorical 

food-spending data published in Coleman-Jensen et al. (2019). 

30The cost of the TFP is revised each month to account for inflation in food prices. In December 2019, the weekly cost 

of the TFP for a family of 4 (2 adults age 19-50 and 2 children age 6-8 and 9-11) was $149.30. For this report, TFP costs are 

estimated by ERS separately for Alaska and Hawaii, using adjustment factors calculated from USDA’s TFP costs for those 

States for the second half of 2019. USDA’s TFP costs for Alaska and Hawaii are available on USDA’s Center for Nutrition 

Policy and Promotion website. 

31The TFP, in addition to its use as a research tool, is used as a basis for setting the maximum SNAP benefit amounts 

(U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2007). 

32The cost of a TFP for a household is calculated under the assumption that all food purchased by household members 

is shared. 
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About 7.0 percent of households interviewed in the CPS Food Security Supplement did not respond 

to the food-spending questions (or reported zero usual food spending) and were excluded from the 

analysis. As a result, the total number of households represented in tables 6 and 7 is smaller than in 

tables 1 and 2, and food-spending estimates may not be fully representative of all households in the 

United States.33

Food Expenditures by Selected Household Characteristics

In 2019, the typical U.S. household spent $50.00 per person weekly for food (table 6). Median 

household food spending relative to the cost of the TFP—which adjusts for food price inflation and 

adjusts more precisely for the food needs of persons in different age-gender categories—was 1.28, 

not significantly different from 1.27 in 2018 (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2019). That is, in 2019, the 

typical household spent 28 percent more on food than the cost of the TFP for that household. 

Households with children under age 18 generally spent less for food, relative to the household 

cost of the TFP, than those without children. The typical household with children spent 15 percent 

more than the cost of the TFP on food, while the typical household with no children spent 35 

percent more. Median household food expenditures relative to the cost of the TFP were lower for 

households with children headed by single women (1.06) and other households with children (1.06) 

than for married couples with children (1.19). Median food expenditures relative to the cost of the 

TFP were highest for men living alone (1.55).

Median food expenditures relative to the cost of the TFP were lower for households with Black 

non-Hispanic (1.10) and Hispanic reference persons (1.15) than for households with a White nonHispanic reference person (1.35). This pattern is consistent with the lower average incomes and 

higher prevalence rates of food insecurity for these racial and ethnic minorities.

As expected, households with higher incomes spent more money on food than did lower-income 

households.34 The typical household with income below the poverty line spent about 3 percent less 

than the cost of the TFP, while the typical household with income at or above 185 percent of the 

poverty line spent 43 percent more than the cost of the TFP. 

Median food spending relative to the cost of the TFP was lower for households in nonmetropolitan 

areas (1.13) than for those inside metropolitan statistical areas (1.30). Regionally, median spending 

on food relative to the cost of the TFP was lowest in the Midwest (1.19), and highest in the West 

(1.32) and Northeast (1.34).

33Households that were unable or unwilling to report food spending were less likely to be food insecure than those that 

did report food spending (7.1 percent compared with 10.8 percent). Food spending may, therefore, be slightly underestimated 

from these data.

34However, food spending does not rise proportionately with income, so high-income households spend a smaller proportion of their income on food than low-income households.
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Table 6

Weekly household food spending per person and relative to the household cost of the Thrifty 

Food Plan (TFP), 2019

Category

Number of 

households1

Median weekly food spending

Per person

Relative to household cost of 

December 2019 TFP

1,000 Dollars Ratio

All households 119,438 50.00 1.28

Household composition:

With children < 18 yrs 35,434 40.00 1.15

At least one child < 6 yrs 15,182 37.50 1.15

Married-couple families 23,021 42.86 1.19

Female head, no spouse 8,772 37.50 1.06

Male head, no spouse 3,101 42.00 1.15

Other household with child2 539 40.00 1.06

With no children < 18 yrs 84,004 60.00 1.35

More than one adult 50,359 53.33 1.25

Women living alone 18,583 60.00 1.36

Men living alone 15,062 80.00 1.55

With elderly 35,903 50.00 1.19

Elderly living alone 13,147 60.00 1.32

Race/ethnicity of households:

White, non-Hispanic 78,812 56.00 1.35

Black, non-Hispanic 14,845 50.00 1.10

Hispanic3 16,823 48.33 1.15

Other, non-Hispanic 8,957 50.00 1.26

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

Under 1.00 10,286 40.00 0.97

Under 1.30 14,671 40.00 0.97

Under 1.85 24,900 40.00 1.06

1.85 and over 67,379 60.00 1.43

Income unknown 27,160 50.00 1.19

Area of residence:4

Inside metropolitan area 102,716 50.00 1.30

In principal cities5 35,117 55.00 1.32

Not in principal cities 51,391 50.00 1.31

Outside metropolitan area 16,722 50.00 1.13

Census geographic region:

Northeast 20,337 55.00 1.34

Midwest 25,490 50.00 1.19

South 46,437 50.00 1.26

West 27,174 53.33 1.32

1Totals exclude households that did not answer the questions about spending on food or reported zero usual food spending. 

These exclusions represented 8.1 percent of all households.

2Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.

3Hispanics may be of any race. 

4Metropolitan area residence is based on 2013 Office of Management and Budget delineation. 

5Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal 

cities is not identified for about 16 percent of households in metropolitan statistical areas.

Note: These estimates are based on categorical food spending data rather than on continuous data that were used in 2014 

and earlier years. Beginning with the 2015 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, food spending amounts are 

categorized in public-use data. 

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 

2019 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement. 
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Table 7

Weekly household food spending per person and relative to the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan 

(TFP) by food security status, 2019

Category

Number of 

households1

Median weekly food spending

Per person

Relative to cost of 

December 2019 TFP

1,000 Dollars Ratio

All households 119,438 50.00 1.28

Food security status:

Food-secure households 106,366 50.00 1.31

Food-insecure households 12,927 40.00 1.06

Households with low food security 7,949 40.00 1.06

Households with very low food security 4,977 45.00 1.07

1Total for all households excludes households that did not answer the questions about spending on food or reported zero 

usual spending for food. These represented 8.1 percent of all households. Totals in the bottom section also exclude households that did not answer any of the questions in the food security scale.

Note: These estimates are based on categorical food spending data rather than on continuous data that was used in 2014 

and earlier years. Beginning with the 2015 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, food spending amounts are 

categorized in public-use data.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 

2019 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

Food Expenditures and Household Food Security

Food-secure households typically spent more on food than did food-insecure households. Median 

food spending relative to the cost of the TFP was 1.31 among food-secure households in 2019, 

compared with 1.06 among food-insecure households (table 7). Thus, taking into account estimated 

food need, the median food-secure household spent 24 percent more for food than the median foodinsecure household (estimated as 1.31/1.06=1.24).35 Statistical Supplement table S-10 provides more 

information on food spending by food-secure and food-insecure households by household characteristics (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020).

35The pattern of higher food spending among food-secure households compared with food-insecure households was also 

found in USDA’s National Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) data (Tiehen et al., 2017).
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Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs and Food Security

Households with limited resources use a variety of methods to help meet their food needs. Some 

participate in Federal food and nutrition assistance programs or obtain food from emergency 

providers in their communities to supplement the food they purchase. Households that turn to 

Federal and community food and nutrition assistance programs typically do so because they are 

having difficulty meeting their food needs. The use of such programs by low-income households 

provides insight into the extent of these households’ difficulties in obtaining enough food. The 

relationship between food security status and the use of food and nutrition assistance programs also 

provides insight into how low-income households cope with difficulties in acquiring adequate food.

This section presents information about the food security status of households that participated in the 

three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs: SNAP, the National School Lunch Program, and 

WIC (see box, “Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs,” p. 31). It also provides information about 

the extent to which food-insecure households participated in these programs. This report does not 

describe total participation in the Federal food and nutrition assistance programs, participation rates of 

eligible households in those programs, and characteristics of participants in the programs. Extensive 

information on those topics is available from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).36

Statistical Supplement tables S-11 to S-16 provide information on food spending by participants 

and low-income nonparticipants in selected Federal and community food and nutrition assistance 

programs and about the extent to which households obtained assistance from community food 

pantries and emergency kitchens (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020).

Methods

The December 2019 CPS Food Security Supplement included questions about the use of Federal 

nutrition assistance programs. All households with reported annual incomes below 185 percent of the 

Federal poverty threshold were asked these questions. To minimize respondent burden, households 

with annual incomes above that range were not asked the questions unless they indicated some level 

of difficulty in meeting their food needs on the first of the two preliminary screener questions asked of 

all households (listed in footnote 7, p. 3). Therefore, these analyses were restricted to households with 

annual incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line because most households with incomes above 

this range were not asked whether they participated in these programs.

The questions analyzed in this section regarding SNAP participation are:

• During the past 12 months, since December of last year, did anyone in this household get 

SNAP or food stamp benefits?37 

36Additional research findings on the operation and effectiveness of these programs are available from the ERS website.

37The Food Stamp Program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in October 2008. The 

survey mentions both names in the question, as well as the State’s name for the program in States that used a different name.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers 15 

domestic food and nutrition assistance programs. The three largest programs are:

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program.

The program provides monthly benefits to eligible low-income households to purchase food 

items at SNAP-authorized retailers. SNAP is available to all individuals who meet financial 

and nonfinancial eligibility criteria. In an average month of fiscal year 2019 (October 1, 2018, 

through September 30, 2019), SNAP provided benefits to 35.7 million people in the United 

States (about 11 percent of individuals). The average benefit was about $130 per person per 

month, and Federal expenditures for the program were $60 billion that year. 

• The National School Lunch Program. The program operates in more than 100,000 public 

and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions. All meals served under 

the program receive Federal subsidies, and free or reduced-price lunches are available to 

low-income students. In fiscal year 2019, the program provided lunches to an average of 

29.6 million children each school day. About two-thirds (68 percent) of the lunches served 

in 2019 were free, and an additional 6 percent were provided at reduced prices. 

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

The program is a federally-funded preventive nutrition program that provides grants 

to States to support distribution of supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and nonbreastfeeding postpartum 

women; for infants in low-income families; and for children younger than age 5 in lowincome families and who are found to be at nutritional risk. Most State WIC agencies 

provide vouchers that participants use to acquire supplemental food packages at authorized 

food stores. In fiscal year 2019, WIC served 6.4 million participants per month at an average 

monthly cost for food (after rebates to WIC from manufacturers) of about $41 per person. 

Information on special program provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic is available on the 

USDA FNS website.

(FNS Program data accessed from FNS website on May 4, 2020; for more information, see 

Tiehen, 2020.)

Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs

Households that responded affirmatively were then asked:

• In which months of 2019 were SNAP or food stamp benefits received?

Households that reported participation in November, but not December, were then asked: 

• On what date in November did your household receive SNAP or food stamp benefits?
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Information from the three questions was used to identify the number of months of receipt of SNAP 

in the prior year as well as whether households received SNAP benefits in the 30 days prior to the 

survey, which is from mid-November to mid-December 2019.38

Questions about the National School Lunch Program and WIC are also analyzed here. These 

questions are: 

• During the past 30 days, did any children in the household (between 5 and 18 years old) 

receive free or reduced-price lunches at school? (Only households with children between the 

ages of 5 and 18 were asked this question.)

• During the past 30 days, did any women or children in this household get food through the 

WIC program? (Only households with a child under age 5 or a woman age 15-45 were asked 

this question.)

Prevalence rates of food security, food insecurity, and very low food security were calculated 

for households reporting use of each nutrition assistance program and for comparison groups of 

nonparticipating households with incomes and household compositions similar to those of nutrition 

assistance program participants. Statistics for participating households excluded households 

with annual incomes above the ranges specified for the comparison groups.39 The proportions of 

food-insecure households participating in each of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance 

programs—SNAP, the National School Lunch Program, and WIC—were calculated, as well as the 

proportion that participated in any of the three programs. 

Food Security of Households That Received Nutrition Assistance

The relationship between food security and the use of food and nutrition assistance programs is 

complex. Households that report using food and nutrition assistance programs in a one-time survey 

can either be more food secure or less food secure than low-income households not using those 

programs. Since the programs provide food and other resources to reduce the severity of food 

insecurity, households are expected to be more food secure after receiving program benefits than 

they were before. On the other hand, it is the more food-insecure households—those having greater 

difficulty meeting their food needs—that seek assistance from the programs. Data confirm this selfselection into nutrition assistance programs.40 In 2019, an estimated 49.7 percent of households that 

received SNAP benefits were food insecure, as were 36.9 percent of households that received free or 

reduced-price school lunches and 34.1 percent of those that received WIC benefits (table 8). 

38The CPS household does not always match the SNAP unit. In some households, only some members are eligible for 

SNAP (Czajka et al., 2012; Scherpf et al., 2015). 

39Some program participants reported annual incomes higher than 12 times the program eligibility criteria, which are 

based on monthly income (relative to poverty). They may have had monthly incomes below the monthly eligibility threshold 

during part of the year, or subfamilies within the household may have had incomes low enough to have been eligible.

40This “self-selection” effect is evident in the association between food security and nutrition assistance program participation observed in the food security survey. Participating households were less food secure than similar nonparticipating 

households. Research that uses methods to account for this self-targeting is required to assess the extent to which the programs improve food security (see Gregory et al., 2015, for a review of this literature and these methods; also see Mabli et al., 

2013; Nord, 2013; Nord, 2012; Nord and Prell, 2011; Ratcliffe and McKernan, 2011; Nord and Golla, 2009; Yen et al., 2008; 

Wilde and Nord, 2005; Gundersen and Oliveira, 2001; Gundersen and Gruber, 2001; Nelson et al., 1998). Overall, these studies find that SNAP improves food security.
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The prevalence of very low food security among households participating in SNAP was more than 

double that of nonparticipating households in the same low-income range (22.0 percent versus 

9.1 percent). For households that received free or reduced-price school lunches, the prevalence of 

very low food security was more than double that of nonparticipating households with school-age 

children in the same income range (11.8 percent versus 5.0 percent). Very low food security was 

also somewhat more prevalent among WIC recipient households (9.1 percent) than similar non-WIC 

households (8.4 percent). 

A possible complicating factor in interpreting table 8 for school lunch and WIC participation is that 

food insecurity was measured over a 12-month period, while program participation is measured 

over a 30-day period. An episode of food insecurity may have occurred at a different time during 

the year than the use of a specific food and nutrition assistance program. A similar tabulation using 

a 30-day measure of food insecurity largely overcomes this potential problem because measured 

food insecurity and reported use of food and nutrition assistance programs both are referenced to the 

previous 30 days. That tabulation shows patterns of food insecurity and the use of food and nutrition 

assistance programs that are similar to those using the 12-month food insecurity measure in table 8, 

although 30-day food insecurity prevalence rates were lower than the corresponding 12-month rates 

(see Statistical Supplement table S-15, Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020).

Participation in Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs by FoodInsecure Households

About 58 percent of food-insecure households reported receiving assistance from one or more of 

the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs during the month prior to the December 2019 

food security survey (table 9). SNAP provided assistance to 43.2 percent of food-insecure households. Children in 27.6 percent of food-insecure households received free or reduced-price school 

lunches. Women or children in 8.4 percent of food-insecure households received WIC food vouchers.41 An estimated 57.7 percent of households classified as having very low food security reported 

participating in one or more of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs, with the 

largest share (47.8 percent) participating in SNAP.42

41These statistics may be biased downward. By comparing household survey data and administrative records, it is documented that food program participation is underreported by household survey respondents, including those in the CPS (Meyer 

and George, 2011; Parker, 2011; Meyer et al., 2009; Meyer et al., 2015; Meyer and Mittag, 2019). This is probably true for 

food-insecure households as well, although the extent of underreporting by these households is not known. Statistics are 

based on the subsample of households with annual incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line. Not all of these households 

were eligible for certain programs. (For example, many households without pregnant women or children and with incomes 

above 130 percent of poverty would not have been eligible for any of the programs.)

42The statistics in table 9 were also calculated for households that were food insecure during the 30-day period prior to the 

survey. In principle, that analysis is preferable because food security status and use of programs are more certainly contemporaneous than when food insecurity is assessed over a 12-month period. However, the results differed only slightly from those 

in table 9 and are not presented in a separate table. In 2019, an estimated 61.5 percent of households that were food insecure 

during the 30-day period prior to the survey participated in SNAP, free or reduced-price school lunch, or WIC during that 

same period. Among households that experienced very low food security in the 30-day period prior to the survey, 58.9 percent 

participated in SNAP, free or reduced-price school lunch, or WIC during that same period. 
34

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Table 8

Percentage of households by food security status and participation in selected Federal nutrition 

assistance programs, 2019

Category

Food

secure

Food insecure

All

With low food 

security

With very low

food security

Percent

Income less than 130 percent of poverty line:

Received SNAP1 benefits previous 12 months 50.3 49.7 27.7 22.0

Received SNAP benefits all 12 months 50.9 49.1 28.4 20.7

Received SNAP benefits 1 to 11 months 48.9 51.1 25.8 25.3

Did not receive SNAP benefits previous 12 months 77.4 22.6 13.5 9.1

Income less than 185 percent of poverty line; school-age children in household:

Received free or reduced-price school lunch previous 30 days 63.1 36.9 25.1 11.8

Did not receive free or reduced-price school lunch previous 30 days 79.0 21.0 16.0 5.0

Income less than 185 percent of poverty line; children under age 5 in household:

Received WIC2 previous 30 days 65.9 34.1 25.0 9.1

Did not receive WIC previous 30 days 71.0 29.0 20.6 8.4

1SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program.

2WIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current Population 

Survey Food Security Supplement.

Table 9

Participation of food-insecure households in selected Federal nutrition assistance programs, 2019

Program

Share of food-insecure households 

that participated in the program

during the previous 30 days1,2

Share of households with very low food

security that participated in the program 

during the previous 30 days1,2

Percent

SNAP3 43.2 47.8

Free or reduced-price school lunch 27.6 21.7

WIC4 8.4 5.9

Any of the three programs 58.3 57.7

None of the three programs 41.7 42.3

1Analysis is restricted to households with annual incomes less than 185 percent of the poverty line because most households with incomes above 

that range were not asked whether they participated in food assistance programs.

2These statistics understate the extent of food and nutrition program participation because program participation is underreported by household 

survey respondents, see footnote 41.

3SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program.

4WIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 Current Population 

Survey Food Security Supplement.
35

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