“Food-insecure” describes a household economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.

Even before the 2020 pandemic, food-insecurity affected countless Americans, especially those with children and those who self-identified as Black, Latinx, or Native American. More than 35 million people in the United States faced food-insecurity in 2019, and Feeding American projects that 42 million people (including 13 million children) may be food insecure in 2021.

  • Food Security and Demographic Disparities.

    1 in 12 white, non-Hispanic individuals lives in a food-insecure household, compared to:

    1 in 6 Latino individuals,

    1 in 6 Vietnamese individuals,

    1 in 5 Black individuals,

    and 1 in 4 Native American individuals.

  • Food Insecurity and Children

    Households with children are more likely to experience food-insecurity. Because food and general wellness are inextricably linked, food-insecure children face higher risks of health conditions like asthma and anemia.

  • Food Insecurity and the Elderly

    In the last 20 years, food insecurity among those over the age of 60 has increased by 38% due to the lingering affects of the 2008-9 recession. Of those seniors served by the Feeding America network, 68% must choose between food assistance and medical assistance, and food-insecure individuals over the age of 50 are markedly more prone to chronic health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, conditions that can be mitigated by healthy diets.