Fact Sheet Household Food Security in the United States, 2008
November 16, 2009
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA) released its annual study measuring food security in the United States, Household Food Security in the United States, 2008. This report presents statistics on how much households spent on food, and the extent to which food insecure households participated in federal and community food assistance programs for 2008.
The following include key highlights from the study.
Key Highlights
• In 2008, 49.1 million (16.4%) Americans lived in food insecure households compared to 36.2 million (12.2%) in 2007.
• In 2008, 17.2 million (14.6%) American households are food insecure compared to 13 million (11.1%) in 2007.
• In 2008, 8.3 million (21%) households with children are living in food insecure households compared to 6.2 million (15.8%) in 2007.
• In 2008, 16.7 million (22.5%) children are living in food insecure households compared to 12.4 million (16.9%) in 2007.
• The number of individuals who are food insecure increased 36% over 2007.
• The number of children increased 35% over 2007.
• Number of households in very low food security: 6,723,000 million The number of households with very low food security has increased 42% since 2007.
• Number of individuals in very low food security: 17,284,000 million The number of individuals with very low food security has increased 45% since 2007.