USDA: U.S. Food Insecurity Declined in 2018

The USDA says food insecurity declined in 2019.  Data released last week by Economic Research Service shows that in 2018, an estimated 88.9% of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year, meaning they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.  The remaining households, 11.1%, were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 4.3% that experienced very low food security.  However, the prevalence of food insecurity overall declined from 11.8% in 2017.  The USDA says the decline was statistically significant, and continued a decline from a high of 14.9% in 2011.  Very low food security was not significantly different from its 4.5% rate in 2017.

USDA said that in very-low-food-secure households, the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times because the household lacked money and other resources for obtaining food.

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