http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155/report-summary.aspx
What Did the Study Find?
The percentage of U.S. households that were food insecure remained essentially unchanged from 2011 to 2012. The percentage of households with food insecurity in the severe range—described as very low food security—also was unchanged.
- In 2012, 85.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year. The remaining 14.5 percent (17.6 million households) were food insecure. Food-insecure households (those with low and very low food security) had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. The change from the 2011 estimate (14.9 percent) was not statistically significant, meaning that the difference may be due to sampling variation. The prevalence of food insecurity has been essentially unchanged since 2008.
- In 2012, 5.7 percent of U.S. households (7.0 million households) had very low food security. In this more severe range of food insecurity, the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year due to limited resources. The prevalence of very low food security was unchanged from 2011 (5.7 percent).
- Children were food insecure at times during the year in 10.0 percent of households with children. These 3.9 million households were unable at times during the year to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children. The percentage of households with food-insecure children was unchanged from 2011 (10.0 percent).