Food insecurity and hunger in the United States of America affects millions of Americans, including some who are middle class, or who are in households where all adults are in work. The United States produces far more food than it needs for domestic consumption; however, hunger within the U.S. is primarily caused by some Americans having insufficient money to buy food for themselves or their families. Additional causes of hunger and food insecurity include neighborhood deprivation and agricultural policy. Hunger is addressed by a mix of public and private food aid provision. Public interventions include changes to agricultural policy, the construction of supermarkets in underserved neighborhoods, investment in transportation infrastructure, and the development of community gardens. Private aid can be provided through examples such as food pantries, soup kitchens, food banks, and food rescue organizations.
Reliance on food banks has led to a rise in obesity and diabetes within the food insecure community. Many foods in food banks are highly processed and low in nutritional value leading to further health effects. One study showed 33% of American households visiting food pantries had diabetes. Food insecure individuals living in low-income communities experience higher rates of chronic disease, leading to healthcare costs and more financial hardships.
Historically, the U.S. was a world leader in reducing hunger both domestically and internationally. In the latter half of the twentieth century, other advanced economies in Europe and Asia began to overtake the U.S. in terms of reducing hunger among their own populations. In 2011, a report presented in the New York Times found that among 20 economies recognized as advanced by the International Monetary Fund and for which comparative rankings for food security were available, the U.S. was joint worst. Nonetheless, in March 2013, the Global Food Security Index ranked the U.S. number one for food affordability and overall food security. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that the US is achieving 87.6% of what should be possible at their income level for fulfilling the right to food.
In 2024, 13.7 percent of U.S. households, about 18.3 million, were food insecure at some point during the year. Another 5.4 percent, about 7.2 million households, experienced very low food security. Neither prevalence estimate was statistically different from 2023. Surveys have consistently found much higher levels of food insecurity for students, with a 2019 study finding that over 40% of US undergraduate students experienced food insecurity. Indicators suggested the prevalence of food insecurity for US households approximately doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an especially sharp rise for households with young children.
Food insecurity
Food insecurity is defined at a household level as not having adequate food for any household member due to finances. The step beyond this is very low food security, which is having six (for families without children) to eight (for families with children) or more food insecure conditions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Security Supplement Survey. To be very low food secure means members of the household disrupt their food intake due to financial reasons.
These conditions are many: worrying about running out of food, that food bought does not last, a lack of a balanced diet, adults cutting down portion sizes or out meals entirely, eating less than what they felt they should, being hungry and not eating, unintended weight loss, not eating for whole days (repeatedly), due to financial reasons.
Food insecurity is closely related to poverty but is not mutually exclusive. Food insecurity does not exist in isolation and is just one individual aspect in the multiple factors of social determinants regarding health
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity is "a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food." Hunger is defined as "an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity."
The USDA has also created a language to describe various severities of food insecurity. High food security occurs when there are "no reported indications of food-access problems or limitations". Marginal food security occurs when there are one to two reported indications of "food-access problems or limitations" such as anxiety over food shortages in the household but no observable changes in food intake or dietary patterns. Low food security, previously called food insecurity without hunger, occurs when individuals experience a decrease in the "quality, variety, or desirability of diet" but do not exhibit reduced food intake. Very low food security, previously called food insecurity with hunger, is characterized by "multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake."
Causes Hunger and food insecurity in the United States is both a symptom and consequence of a complex combination of factors, including but not limited to poverty, housing insecurity, environmental justice, unemployment, economic inequality, systemic racism, and other national policies and protections. There is not a single cause attributed to hunger and there is much debate over who or what is responsible for the prevalence of hunger in the United States.
Hunger and poverty
Researchers most commonly focus on the link between hunger and poverty. The federal poverty level is defined as "the minimum amount of income that a household needs to be able to afford housing, food, and other basic necessities."Borger, C., Gearing, M., Macaluso, T., Mills, G., Montaquila, J., Weinfield, N., & Zedlewski, S. (2014). Hunger in America 2014 Executive Summary. Feeding America. As of 2020, the federal poverty level for a family of four was $26,200.
Based on her research on poverty, Pennsylvania State University economic geographer Amy Glasmeier claims that when individuals live at, slightly above, or below the poverty line, unexpected expenses contribute to individuals reducing their food intake. Medical emergencies have a significant impact on poor families due to the high cost of medical care and hospital visits. Also, urgent car repairs reduce a family's ability to provide food, since the issue must be addressed in order to allow individuals to travel to and from work. Although income cannot be labeled as the sole cause of hunger, it plays a key role in determining if people possess the means to provide basic needs to themselves and their family.
The loss of a job reflects a core issue that contributes to hunger—employment insecurity. People who live in areas with higher unemployment rates and who have a minimal or very low amount of liquid assets are shown to be more likely to experience hunger or food insecurity. The complex interactions between a person's job status, income and benefits, and the number of dependents they must provide for, influence the impact of hunger on a family.O'Brien, D., Staley, E., Torres Aldeen, H., & Uchima, S. (2004). The UPS Foundation and the Congressional Hunger Center 2004 Hunger Forum Discussion Paper: Hunger in America (The Definitions, Scope, Causes, History and Status of the Problem of Hunger in the United States). America's Second Harvest. For example, food insecurity often increases with the number of additional children in the household due to the negative impact on wage labor hours and an increase in the household's overall food needs.
Low-income and low access communities
Food deserts Location plays a critical role in access to affordable and nutritious food. People who live in food deserts are more likely to experience food insecurity because food is harder to obtain based on where they live. Living in low-income, low access communities that are considered food deserts can prevent individuals from easily accessing healthy food markets and grocery stores due to lack of availability. Lack of access to grocery stores often leads to reliance on corner stores and convenience stores for food. These stores usually offer less nutritious foods, which causes dietary issues in food insecure populations, such as high rates of diabetes.
Research has expanded the definition of grocery store availability to food to include store quality, community acceptability, health and unhealthy food-marketing practices, product quality, and affordability.
There are several theories that attempt to explain why food deserts form. One theory proposes that the expansion of large chain supermarkets results in the closure of smaller-sized, independent neighborhood grocery stores. Market competition thereby produces a void of healthy food retailers in low-income neighborhoods.
Another theory suggests that in the period between 1970 and 1988, there was increasing economic segregation, with a large proportion of wealthy households moving from inner cities to more suburban areas. As a result, the median income in the inner cities rapidly decreased, causing a substantial proportion of supermarkets in these areas to close. Furthermore, business owners and managers are often discouraged from establishing grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods due to reduced demand for low-skilled workers, low-wage competition from international markets, zoning laws, and inaccurate perceptions about these areas.
Transportation Transportation is a large issue for low-income individuals who live in food deserts. Thus, some argue that the federal government needs to encourage the building of grocery stores, food hubs, and food parcels in these neighborhoods. In urban areas, people living in lower income communities may be more unlikely to easily and regularly access grocery stores that tend to be located far from their home. Single mothers, individuals of color or those living with disabilities have much less access to grocery stores as well. Another idea could be the addition of smaller food hubs within food deserts to increase access.
Social inequality Social inequality is one of the major reasons for nutritional inequalities across America. There is a direct linear relation between socioeconomic status versus malnutrition. People with poor living conditions, less education, less money, and from disadvantaged neighborhoods may experience food insecurity and face less healthy eating patterns, which resulting in a higher level of diet-related health issues. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, 10.2 percent (13.5 million) of US household has food insecurity in 2021. Although this number seems low, accessibility of dietary quality among the higher socioeconomic status American has better reach for healthy dietary quality food compared to the lowered economic status American, and gap between higher and lower socioeconomic status is going up every day. This is happening due to income inequality, higher cost of healthy food, lack of proper education on nutritional health, food shortages, and lack of government influence to establish health equity.
Housing and neighborhood deprivation
An additional contributor to hunger and food insecurity in the U.S.A is neighborhood deprivation. According to the Health & Place Journal, neighborhood deprivation is the tendency for low-income, minority neighborhoods to have greater exposure to unhealthy tobacco and alcohol advertisements, a fewer number of pharmacies with fewer medications, and a scarcity of grocery stores offering healthy food options in comparison to small convenience stores and fast-food restaurants.
Studies have shown that within these food deserts there exists distinct racial disparities. For example, compared to predominately white neighborhoods, predominately black neighborhoods have been reported to have half the number of chain supermarkets available to residents.
Agricultural policy