Housekeeping: Food Insecurity

In this housekeeping post, I will address a few comments that have been made this past week.  A few of my responses will be posted in the comments box in direct response to that individual.  However, there are a few issues that I think should be addressed to everyone and these responses will be posted here.

On February 27, Joe B. said:

“I hope you provide a more clear definition of 'food insecurity.'”

Thanks for pointing that out!  I was using the term “food insecurity” based on the sources I was citing, and I had a general idea of what the term means, but you’re right – that is something I should define early on.

Simply put, as defined by the USDA

Food insecurity: the condition assessed in the food security survey and represented in USDA food security report is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food

Hunger: an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) made the distinction between food insecurity and hunger after recommendations from the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) in 2006.  The language describing the severity of food insecurity was also renamed at this time.  The chart below provides a breakdown of the new and old terms.  I made this chart myself, but based it on the USDA’s Web site (eliminating the old labels because of size constraints).  I apologize for the format - the lines decided not to show up with the rest of the chart.  If I am able to fix this, I will repost it.

For more information, look at the USDA's website, which is listed in the new "useful links" section!

General categories	Detailed categories
	New label	Description of conditions in the household
Food security	High food security	No reported indications of food-access problems or limitations
	Marginal food security	One or two reported indications—typically of anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no indication of changes in diets or food intake
Food insecurity	Low food security	Reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake
	Very low food security	Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake