Food insecurity, defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food, remains a significant public health challenge in the United States. Consistent, dependable access to nutritious food is critical to health. Healthy People 2030 recognizes this and has made reducing household food insecurity and hunger a key objective. This article delves into the statistics surrounding food insecurity, particularly as they relate to Healthy People 2030, and explores the multifaceted factors that contribute to this issue, its impact on health, and potential intervention strategies.
Understanding Food Insecurity: Definitions and Categories
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a framework for understanding food insecurity by dividing it into two categories:
- Low food security: Characterized by reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet, with little to no indication of reduced food intake.
- Very low food security: Characterized by reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.
It's important to note that food insecurity doesn't necessarily cause hunger, but hunger is a possible outcome. The term hunger refers to a potential consequence of food insecurity.
Prevalence of Food Insecurity: A Snapshot of the Statistics
In 2021, 10.2% (13.5 million) of all households in the United States experienced food insecurity. While overall rates remained unchanged from 2019 to 2021, disparities exist among certain populations:
- Households with children (12.5%)
- Households with children headed by a single female (24.3%) or a single male (16.2%)
- Households with incomes below 185% of the poverty threshold (26.5%)
- Households headed by Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (16.2%) individuals
These statistics highlight the disproportionate burden of food insecurity on vulnerable populations, including families with children, low-income households, and racial and ethnic minorities.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Factors Influencing Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is influenced by a number of factors, including income, employment, race/ethnicity, and disability. The risk for food insecurity increases when money to buy food is limited or not available.
- Income and Employment: In 2020, 28.6 percent of low-income households were food insecure, compared to the national average of 10.5 percent. Unemployment can also negatively affect a household’s food security status. High unemployment rates among low-income populations make it more difficult to meet basic household food needs. In addition, children with unemployed parents have higher rates of food insecurity than children with employed parents.
- Disability: Disabled adults may be at a higher risk for food insecurity due to limited employment opportunities and health care-related expenses that reduce the income available to buy food.
- Race and Ethnicity: Racial and ethnic disparities exist related to food insecurity. In 2020, Black non-Hispanic households were over 2 times more likely to be food insecure than the national average (21.7 percent versus 10.5 percent, respectively). Among Hispanic households, the prevalence of food insecurity was 17.2 percent compared to the national average of 10.5 percent. Potential factors influencing these disparities may include neighborhood conditions, physical access to food, and lack of transportation.
- Neighborhood Conditions and Access to Food: Neighborhood conditions may affect physical access to food. For example, people living in some urban areas, rural areas, and low-income neighborhoods may have limited access to full-service supermarkets or grocery stores. Predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods may have fewer full-service supermarkets than predominantly White and non-Hispanic neighborhoods. Convenience stores may have higher food prices, lower-quality foods, and less variety of foods than supermarkets or grocery stores. Access to healthy foods is also affected by lack of transportation and long distances between residences and supermarkets or grocery stores. Residents are at risk for food insecurity in neighborhoods where transportation options are limited, the travel distance to stores is greater, and there are fewer supermarkets. Lack of access to public transportation or a personal vehicle limits access to food. Groups who may lack transportation to healthy food sources include those with chronic diseases or disabilities, residents of rural areas, and some racial/ethnicity groups.
These factors highlight the complex interplay of economic, social, and environmental conditions that contribute to food insecurity.
Health Consequences of Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is linked to negative health outcomes in children and adults, and it may cause children to have trouble in school. Food insecurity and the lack of access to affordable, nutritious food are associated with a higher risk for chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and mental health problems.
- Adults: Adults who are food insecure may be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes and health disparities. For example, a study found that food-insecure adults may be at an increased risk for obesity. Another study found higher rates of chronic disease in low-income, food-insecure adults between the ages of 18 years and 65 years.
- Children: Food-insecure children may also be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes, including obesity. They also face a higher risk of developmental problems compared with food-secure children. In addition, reduced frequency, quality, variety, and quantity of consumed foods may have a negative effect on children’s mental health.
These health consequences underscore the importance of addressing food insecurity as a critical public health priority.
Addressing Food Insecurity: Intervention Strategies and Programs
Food assistance programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), address barriers to accessing healthy food. Studies show these programs may reduce food insecurity. Ensuring access to federal, state, and local assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants, and Children program, among other policies that strengthen food security, helps support reliable access to adequate nutrition for those in need. Other approaches, such as retail store interventions and reducing transportation barriers with programs like Meals on Wheels can also play important roles in mitigating food insecurity.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
- Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs: Administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the 16 federal nutrition assistance programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), SNAP, and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program, provide the most robust response for preventing and alleviating the burden of food insecurity in the United States.
- Nutrition Incentive Programs: One of the largest national nutrition investments is the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), a USDA-funded program with the goal to support health and reduce food insecurity by promoting the purchase and consumption of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers.
- Healthcare-Based Interventions: In the healthcare setting, focusing on chronic diseases such as cardiometabolic disease and cancer, 1 presentation shared preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial examining the impact of 3 different interventions on food insecurity and treatment outcomes in patients with cancer.
These interventions demonstrate the potential for addressing food insecurity through a multi-pronged approach that combines federal assistance, community-based programs, and healthcare initiatives.
The Path to Nutrition Security
Although food security primarily centers on the access to adequate quantities of food, given the linkages between food insecurity and diet-related disease, the concept of nutrition security emerged to better include considerations of dietary quality and nutritional adequacy. Specifically, as indicated by USDA, nutrition security is defined by the USDA as “all Americans [having] consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being”.
Research Gaps and Future Directions
More research is needed to understand food insecurity and its influence on health outcomes and disparities. Future studies should consider characteristics of communities and households that influence food insecurity. Despite the growing body of literature in these areas over the last several decades, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the various underlying mechanisms, and pathways that link food insecurity and neighborhood food environments to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in health and the most effective intervention strategies to address these disparities. This additional evidence will facilitate public health efforts to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health.
The NIH workshop also explored the current evidence on clinical, policy, and community-based interventions and implementation approaches to address food insecurity and promote health equity.
Read also: Mobile Dining Revolution
tags: #healthy #people #2030 #food #insecurity #statistics