food insecurity essay

Food Insecurity - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Food Insecurity refers to the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food. Essays could delve into the causes, effects, and possible solutions to food insecurity both in the United States and globally, addressing issues like poverty, agricultural practices, and climate change. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Food Insecurity you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Child Food Insecurity

It is wrong to think that child food insecurity, malnourishment, and other food issues are only present in "third-world" countries because in reality, they occur worldwide ("Woodhouse"). They are especially prevalent in the United States ("Morrissey"), which is considered to be one of the most advanced and affluent countries in the world. Children from low-income families feel the greatest effects of food insecurity in the United States because they have minimal access to fresh foods, which is caused by the […]

Food Insecurity on College Campuses: Prevalence, Consequences and Solutions

Food insecurity in the United Sates has become a topic of high concern due to the rapid rate at which it has increased in recent years. Food insecurity is defined as "the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways" (Holben & Marshall 2017). Food insecurity is an issue that must be addressed, as the consequences are devastating for those that are affected. Until recently, […]

Escherichia Coli – an Overview

Escherichia coli is coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia and is a Gram negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria. E. coli lives a life of luxury in the lower intestines of warm blooded animals, including humans but when forced out, it lives a life of deprivation and hazard in water, sediment and soil. Most E. coli strain are harmless and are an important part of a healthy human intestinal tract. However, some E. coli are pathogenic cause either diarrhea or illness […]

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The Effects of Food Insecurity in the Community

Abstract Food insecurity is not having the ability to acquire nutritious foods essential for a healthy diet and life (Feeding America, 2011). This problem is a common issue in the Monterey County Salinas Valley, especially among the Latinos, African Americans, single mothers, senior citizens, and children who live in low-income households (Kresge, 2011). Factors that indicate food insecurity are location, unemployment, availability of nutritious foods, and conditions of markets. Effects of food insecurity are health problems, emotional stress, behavior issues, […]

Food Insecurity Among Asian Americans

This study evaluated the prevalence and burden of food insecurity among disaggregated Asian American populations. In this research, prevalence of food insecurity among Asian American subgroups was assessed, with the primary exposure variable of interest being acculturation. This assessment utilized the California Health Interview Survey, the largest state health survey. The results demonstrated that the highest prevalence of food insecurity was found among Vietnamese (16.42%), while the lowest prevalence was among Japanese (2.28%). A significant relationship was noted between the […]

Poor Nutrition and its Effects on Learning

Nutrition is essential to human welfare, however, numerous number of people are badly affected by poor nutrition especially children. Malnutrition is a major concern which ranges from undernutrition to problems of overweight and obesity. It’s usually caused by deficiency in essential vitamins and nutrients needed for intellectual development and learning. The most critical stage for brain development is mainly from conception to the first 2 years of life. It’s highly important that pregnant mothers are given the necessary vitamins and […]

What is Food Insecurity in America?

Throughout the United States, access to healthy food is a privilege. Cumulative institutionalized racism is deeply embedded in the foundation of the country, throughout historical and present public policies, ultimately manifesting injustice within many entities throughout the nation, specifically the food industry (American Civil Liberties Union). This oppressive industry, which includes fast food corporations and agricultural components, takes advantage of vulnerable minority and low-income populations. They do this in many ways, some of which include manipulating the market, pushing out […]

Food Insecurity at Berkeley

During their time in college, many UC Berkeley undergraduate and graduate students experience some type of basic need insecurity. Contrary to basic needs security, basic needs insecurity refers to the inability to obtain food, housing, and financial stability. Students who face food insecurity undergo the struggles of skipping meals or consuming unhealthy food due to their financial inability to afford healthier or complete meals. According to the “2016 UC Food Access & Security Study”, 48% of undergraduate students across the […]

Hunger in ?olleges

Introduction: The Problem Hunger in colleges is a serious issue that has been existing for years as student's lack access to reliable and affordable food. Food insecurity is "a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food (USDA)." Students in colleges, not only hunger for knowledge but also for food. The food insecurity issue has the potential of undermining academic success. Most students do not get enough to eat and are hence fatigued and worried. […]

Food Insecurity in African American Elders

Food insecurity occurs when the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire them in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain. It is a growing problem in older adults (Sengupta, 2016). Nine percent of older persons who live alone are food insecure, and about 15 percent are at risk. This issue is particularly concerning in African American older adults who are at a greater risk compared to their Hispanic and non-Hispanic white counterparts (16.66%, 13.26%, […]

College Food Insecurity: how Big is the Problem?

Working while attending college or university is also associated with food insecurity. 4,5,9 Higher rates of food insecurity have been reported among students working longer hours. 4,5 Rates of food insecurity for students working over 20 hours per week have ranged from 38-46%. 4,5 In addition, university students who live off campus and those who do not have a meal plan tend to have an increased risk for food insecurity as compared to students living on campus and those with […]

Food Insecurity in Mozambique: Going to Bed in Debt and Waking up Hungry

Abstract Food insecurity is a global problem that varies in magnitude on regional and local levels. It is also a problem that does not receive equal representation or efforts between and within nations. Some of the problems facing food insecurities, however, overlap between nations, for example, climate change, distribution of resources, and governmental roles and impacts. When compared to other nations of the world, which may or may not have dire food insecurities, Mozambique has its unique set of challenges, […]

Food Insecurity in the Bronx

The story of Jettie Young illustrates the widespread problem of food insecurity and how it affects individuals from any area or economic background across the United States. When Jettie Young was looking to purchase a house for her small family in Austin, Texas, affordability was foremost on her mind. She and her husband decided on a starter home in the Hornsby Bend area, a neighborhood made up of many families with young children, much like her own. What she did […]

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The gap between the poor and the rich across the globe is getting broader. As a result, a vast proportion of the world’s population suffers from malnutrition, or worse, is on the verge of hunger and starvation. The United States is no exception, and the number of undernourished is continuously increasing.

So how are developed and developing countries tackling the problem of poor nutrition and food security? Why has food become a means of getting rich instead of ensuring people’s well-being and safety? Is healthy food a privilege of the wealthy?

To draw attention to the issue, educational institutions often assign argumentative essays about food insecurity in America. College students should express their views on essay topics like food insecurity and scarcity, its causes and effects, GMOs, and sustainability. They can also work on new methods to ensure we produce enough food for everyone.

When writing your research paper, ensure your introduction contains an intriguing thesis statement for food insecurity. For instance, pose a question or challenge an approach in tackling the problem. Once you frame the hook, continue with the body paragraphs to present your views supported by evidence and credible sources. The final section of your manuscript is the conclusion which wraps up your ideas and offers an overview or solution to the issue.

As always, PapersOwl has the best essay examples on food insecurity solutions you can read for free. These ideas will help you outline the perfect cause-and-effect paper. If your work needs improvement, contact the expert team at PapersOwl, and they will be more than happy to assist you.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — World Food Crisis — The Color of Hunger: The Complexities of Food Insecurity

The Color of Hunger: The Complexities of Food Insecurity

Categories: Hunger World Food Crisis

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Published: Sep 1, 2023

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Policies to reduce food insecurity: An ethical imperative

• Though a quarter of U.S. households receive food assistance, more than 11% experience food insecurity.
• Thus, expanding food and nutrition assistance programs is an ethical imperative.
• Based on empirical evidence and theory, we articulate an ethical framework to guide expansion.
• Just food policies should (1) embrace compassion, (2) create opportunity, (3) consider essential needs, and (4) promote knowledge and empathy.

A quarter of U.S. households receive food assistance, yet more than 11% still experience food insecurity annually. We argue that an expansion-oriented approach to food and nutrition assistance policy is an ethical imperative. Drawing on values from the Capability Approach and Social Empathy Model and supported by empirical evidence, we propose an ethical framework characterized by four principles that can be used to assess and inform the development of just food policies. We argue that policies should (1) embrace compassion, (2) create opportunity, (3) consider essential needs, and (4) promote knowledge and empathy. In an applied case, we evaluate current SNAP policy in terms of those principles and offer recommendations to promote justice in the design and implementation of SNAP and other food policies.

1. Introduction

In fiscal year 2018, the federal government spent $96 billion on the 14 food and nutrition assistance programs operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) [1] . The largest of the USDA's programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), alone operated at a cost of nearly $65 billion, reaching an estimated 39.7 million participants [1] . Of these programs, the ones that directly provided meals served 9.5 billion breakfasts, lunches, and suppers to hungry Americans 1 [1] . All told, one out of every four Americans benefits from a USDA food and nutrition program over the course of a year [2] . Despite this sizeable commitment, 11.1% of American households – 14.3 million homes – experienced food insecurity in 2018, meaning that they were “uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members, because [of] insufficient money or other resources” [3] . Reflecting their high level of need, a substantially higher portion of households receiving food assistance are also food insecure. Among eligible households in 2018, 47.5% of those receiving SNAP, 39.5% of those where children got free or reduced price lunches at school, and 36.9% of those receiving from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) were food insecure [3] . Of particular concern, 4.3% of all households – 5.6 million homes – experienced very low food security [3] , meaning that one or more household members experienced disruptions to their food intake or normal eating patterns. Rates of very low food security range between 12.3% among households receiving WIC to 21.7% in homes receiving SNAP [3] .

Two general and diverging perspectives can be used to frame a policy response to this series of facts. The first of these is retrenchment [ 4 , 5 ], characterized by the restriction or elimination of food and nutrition assistance benefits, new eligibility requirements to curtail participation, and movement toward restricting choice by benefit recipients. Traditionally, retrenchment is associated with more conservative principles of governance [4] and recently has been accompanied by rhetoric which casts food and nutrition programs as wasteful and recipients of these programs as undeserving [6] . The second broad perspective might be best described as expansion, characterized by the maintenance of choice for beneficiaries, efforts to reduce barriers to participation and stigma, and more generous benefits and eligibility rules. Underlying this second perspective are more progressive principles of governance, a view of structural (rather than individual) factors as fundamental causes of food insecurity and hunger, and the notion that access to food is an ethical issue that requires attention from the government. Both perspectives have long been present in federal food and nutrition assistance policymaking. For example, there have been repeated calls over time to restrict the types of food that can be purchased with SNAP benefits (retrenchment) [ 7 , 8 ]. In contrast, there are also efforts like the recently-implemented Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools where a sufficient proportion of the student body is deemed eligible on the basis of administrative data to make free lunch and breakfast available for all children, irrespective of individual eligibility (expansion) [9] .

2. An ethical approach to food and nutrition assistance policies

In this paper, we argue that an expansion-oriented approach to food and nutrition assistance programs is an ethical imperative. To do so, we first call on empirical evidence to clarify the need for expansion. Next, we ground our argument in principles from the field of social work, whose professional code of ethics offers important values statements that support this approach. Last, we draw on theoretical frameworks from both social work and economics, which help to translate the ethical values we embrace into explicit statements about the nature of an ethical approach to food and nutrition assistance. Throughout, we demonstrate the application of our ethical framework using SNAP as an example, selected because of its place as the largest of the food and nutrition assistance policies. 2

2.1. Empirical evidence

As noted above, despite a substantial financial commitment on the part of the federal government, many U.S. households still experience food insecurity. Indeed, at no time during the past 20 years has the rate of food insecurity fallen below 10% [11] . We argue that the intransigence of this problem points to an urgent need for expansion, made even more immediate by the tremendous increases in food insecurity and other forms of hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We underscore the evidence in support of this position by providing empirical evidence to respond to two common arguments typically associated with retrenchment. First, despite arguments to the contrary [12] , there is little-to-no evidence of misspending or fraud in the USDA programs. For example, despite its size and scope, 93% to 95% of federal spending on SNAP has gone directly to benefits in the past 10 years [1] . Both overpayment and underpayment of SNAP benefits have fallen overtime, such that both rates remain at near-historic lows [13] , and only about 1.5% of all SNAP benefits are sold for cash [14] . Second, despite rhetoric that frames recipients of benefits as unfairly benefiting from government largesse (see, e.g., the labeling of the broad based categorical eligibility (BBCE) provision of SNAP as a “loophole” that unfairly expands eligibility [15] ), most food and nutrition assistance benefits go to recipients who are typically understood to be “deserving” of support. More than two-thirds of SNAP participants are either children (44%), older adults (13%), or nonelderly persons with disabilities (10%) [16] . Of the remaining USDA programs, the primary ones are either restricted to or aimed at children (and their parents): WIC; the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; the Child and Adult Care Food Program; and the Summer Food Service Program. Thus, there is little support for retrenchment on the basis of fraud, inefficiency, or a tendency for those who are “underserving” to receive benefits.

2.2. Values

In articulating the values that we incorporate into our framework, we draw on key ethical principles from the social work tradition. While the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) Code of Ethics [17] is not specifically focused on food and nutrition assistance, it underscores the need for an expansionist approach by identifying a set of core values and accompanying ethical principles. Though meant primarily as a guide to ethical practice for social workers, the Code can also be applied to policymaking more broadly and to food and nutrition assistance programs in particular. Two values are especially relevant: social justice and a belief in the dignity and worth of the person . These values are embodied by ethical principles that direct social workers to (a) challenge injustice by “ensur[ing] access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people” and (b) upholding individual dignity and worth by “promoting [individuals’] socially responsible self-determination and capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs” [17] .

2.3. Theoretical frameworks

Supported by empirical evidence, these social work principles suggest that an ethical approach to food and nutrition assistance programs must be based on the ability of these programs to promote justice and ensure dignity by supporting equality of access and opportunity and the right of all people to self-determination. To operationalize these principles, we turn to two existing frameworks: Amartya Sen's Capability Approach [ 18 , 19 ] and Elizabeth Segal's Social Empathy Model [20] . Collectively, these frameworks formalize what an ethical commitment to just food and nutrition assistance policies might look like and provide a mechanism by which to inculcate these values and drive policy change.

2.3.1. The capability approach

Briefly, the Capability Approach conceptualizes ‘capabilities’ as realistic opportunities to achieve those aspects of wellbeing that are desired by individuals, including experiencing states of being (e.g. food security), and engagement in activities (e.g. grocery shopping) [19] . In his description of the Capability Approach, Sen emphasizes truly free choice rather than proscribed outcomes, by focusing on capability to achieve a desired aspect of wellbeing rather than enumerating essential components of wellbeing [21] . Further, this framework considers capabilities holistically, emphasizing people's need to achieve sets of capabilities and recognizing that freedom to achieve a form of wellbeing is not truly present if that achievement requires sacrificing another important aspect of wellbeing. For example, if you must choose between keeping your job or caring for your child, you do not have the capability to achieve those aspects of wellbeing [18] . This framework also identifies individual and systemic constraints on capabilities, such as health status or racial segregation [19] .

The Capability Approach is a philosophical framework and not a theory of social justice. As such, it describes the function and structure of the world as it is rather than dictating how things ought to be [21] . Nonetheless, Sen readily recognizes the utility of the Capability Approach as a framework on which to build theories of justice [21] . We draw on the Capability Approach because it attends to issues of self-determination and acknowledges limits to true freedom when achieving a necessary outcome, like food security, is in competition with other essential needs or is limited by personal or systemic barriers.

2.3.2. Social empathy model

While the Capability Approach concretizes the challenges food policies must consider, the Social Empathy Model articulates the ethical principles which could drive investment in developing just food policies and describes processes to integrate those principles into policy responses. The Social Empathy Model describes moving through and between the three processes of experiencing empathy fully, seeking and gaining deep, complex, contextual understanding, and recognizing and embracing social responsibility [20] . This framework was developed to combat structural inequalities and disparities and emphasizes the need for the powerful and privileged to develop social empathy for the marginalized as a means to reduce inequality, decrease domination of some by others, increase compassion in the shaping of powerful policies and structures, and reduce adherence to stereotypes and differences as justifications for inequity [ 20 , 22 ]. The Social Empathy Model underscores the importance and viability of developing social empathy in individuals and groups as a mechanism for promoting justice in policy design [20] . Empathy can be taught and learned, particularly through direct experiences and modeling, suggesting the plausibility of educating and training policymakers and constituents and the vital importance of careful framing in policy advocacy efforts [22] .

3. Elements of just food policies

We integrate aspects of the Capability Approach and the Social Empathy Model to propose an ethical framework to assess the justice of current food policies and to inform the development of just food policies moving forward. This framework includes four primary principles.

First, just food policies will embrace values of compassion and freedom. Such policies will use empathy to counter shame and stigma, which have long been associated with receipt of public assistance. This includes recognizing individuals’ dignity and freedom and conveying trust in and respect for food assistance beneficiaries by enhancing freedom to make individual food choices.

Second, just food policies will create opportunity for all people to experience food security, by accounting for personal and systemic barriers that limit pursuit of this outcome. Such policies may provide differential support for individuals facing personal barriers, such as disability status or poor health. Further, such policies will actively reduce systemic barriers such as work requirements or immigration penalties for beneficiaries. Finally, realistic opportunities to experience food security may require increased generosity in food and nutrition benefits to address the persistent presence of food insecurity under current policy.

Third, just food policies will consider other essential needs in concert with food assistance needs. Such policies will incorporate collaboration across nutrition assistance programs as well as coordination with policies and programs addressing other vital needs such as health, education, child care, and elder services.

Fourth and finally, just food policies will promote knowledge and empathy in policymakers, constituents, and beneficiaries. Such policies will include training in scientific knowledge around food insecurity as well as empathy development for policymakers, designed to infuse food policies with informed compassion. Training and education will also encompass communities, program staff, and advocates, to promote the discussion and framing of food policies in compassionate terms.

4. Current policies: evaluation and recommendations

4.1. evaluation.

How do our current food and nutrition assistance fare according to the four principles of our ethical framework (embracing compassion, creating opportunity, considering essential needs, and promoting knowledge and empathy)? Somewhat well, as it turns out. For example, a number of characteristics of SNAP are specifically aimed at promoting compassion and freedom. Currently, all SNAP benefits are administered using Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, which were implemented in part as an effort to reduce the stigma that previously occurred when using food stamp coupons for purchasing food [23] . Likewise, the USDA has been steadfast in resisting efforts to restrict what SNAP benefits can be used to purchase. Currently, eligible households can buy most foods in stores that accept SNAP, with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products, hot and prepared foods, and a few other types of items [24] . However, it should be noted that SNAP is transmitted as an in-kind benefit (rather than as cash), which both restricts choice and creates stigma by cultivating a perception of recipients as not to be trusted to spend their benefits on food.

SNAP also fares well with respect to its ability to address personal and systemic barriers and to promote realistic opportunities for food security. Most generally, SNAP is authorized as an entitlement program, meaning that all who are eligible can receive benefits. In addition, the BBCE provision allows states to expand eligibility beyond the federal cutoffs for income and assets. As a consequence, among all nutrition programs, SNAP reaches the greatest number of Americans. Estimates suggest that half of all children will use SNAP at some point before age 18 as will half of adults between the ages of 20 and 65 [ 25 , 26 ]. In addition, the SNAP-Ed program provides education to help recipients use their benefits wisely and prepare nutritious foods [27] . Finally, the USDA has engaged in efforts to expand access to SNAP; currently, 260,000 retailers accept SNAP including big box stores, supermarkets, farmers’ markets and convenience stores [28] .

However, there is also evidence that SNAP benefits may not be sufficient, because the structure of the program does not acknowledge the resources necessary to prepare healthy foods and benefits do not vary across areas with vastly different costs-of-living or meet families’ food needs throughout the month [29] , [30] , [31] . The structure of the program also does not adequately meet the needs of important subgroups of the population. For example, while there is accommodation to persons with disabilities, and SNAP provides essential benefits to many Americans who have a disability but do not qualify for SSI or SSDI [32] , SNAP benefits are not sufficient to eliminate the high rates of food insecurity experienced by households that have a person with a disability [ 33 , 34 this issue], nor is the program meaningfully set up to accommodate the wide range of other personal circumstances that act as practical barriers to achieving food security. As important, aspects of the program – like the ban on eligibility for recent immigrants – create profound barriers among segments of the population at high risk for food insecurity [35] .

As a nutrition assistance program, SNAP does not focus explicitly on meeting other needs. However, a growing body of research points to many additional benefits to SNAP participation including improvements to health, nutrition, and academic outcomes, improved health care use and lower health care costs, and long-term self-sufficiency [36] , [37] , [38] . Perhaps most notably, SNAP is a surprisingly effective anti-poverty program, raising more people out of poverty than any other means-tested program, 3.2 million in 2018 [39] . Comparably, SNAP does less well with respect to its ability to cultivate knowledge and empathy. This is true not only because the program was not designed with these aims in mind, but also because of SNAP's place in the broader US Social Welfare system, which is heavily comprised of targeted and means-tested (rather than universal) benefits intended to serve as a safety net of last resort and which are widely recognized as stigmatizing [40] .

4.2. Recommendations

Based on our framework, we offer a set of recommendations to maintain and strengthen the SNAP program. First, consistent with the need for just policies to embrace compassion, we support the continued use of EBT cards and the maintenance of freedom of choice for recipients, both of which reduce stigma and assure dignity. Second, and in line with our recommendation that policies create opportunity, we argue for the need to maintain BBCE, which will preserve access to food for millions of Americans. Similarly, to ensure access and to address the multiple barriers to food security for this group, we argue for the need to restore benefits to recent immigrant families. But, in light of the persistent problem of food insecurity, we recommend both the expansion of benefits to meaningfully address the food needs of low-income households and serious consideration toward adopting a flexible benefit structure that acknowledges differences in the standard of living and the barriers that affect at-risk households.

Consistent with Segal's Model [20] , the fourth principle of our framework for ethical food assistance emphasizes the need for policies that are structured to cultivate social empathy. The means by which to accomplish empathy via the SNAP program and other food and nutrition assistance programs are not straightforward, however. Social work models like the Liberation Health Model [41] describe mechanisms by which clinical interactions can be used to build critical consciousness and thus could be modified to explicitly focus on social empathy, but generating widespread empathy will likely require policy-level modifications. An initial step toward cultivating empathy could be public marketing strategies, which seek to educate the public and policymakers about the challenges of achieving food security and to reduce stigma about receiving food assistance. Further modifying the structure of some programs will also help. For example, substantially increasing the reimbursement rate for breakfasts and lunches and relaxing eligibility criteria would allow schools to increase the quality and diversity of food offerings, which would likely decrease stigma by increasing participation, in turn increasing food security.

The recommendations offered above represent modifications to existing programs. However, a more ambitious ethical approach to food and nutrition assistance might involve a full restructuring of the US social welfare state. Researchers frequently point to the additional benefits of the SNAP program, most notably the large-scale reductions in poverty noted above. However, these benefits point as much to the inadequacy of the US social welfare system in meeting the needs of low-income families as they do to the successes of SNAP and other nutrition programs. Instead, and consistent with the need for policies to consider all essential needs, one might conceive of a far broader series of supports: universal basic income and universal health insurance programs characterized by ease of access, straightforward recertification and elements to limit stigma. Alongside these could be targeted food and nutrition assistance programs (and other benefits), that could more flexibly and effectively address the needs of those families who continue to struggle to put adequate and sufficient food on the table. Though expensive, if properly conceived and well-implemented, this platform of programs would go a long way toward establishing an equitable approach to meeting the food and nutrition needs of US families.

This work was supported in part by a travel grant from the Ingestive Behavior Research Center at Purdue University.

1 These programs include The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

2 We direct the reader to a recent overview by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities for more information about the structure of SNAP benefits and eligibility [10] .

Food Insecurity

Economic Stability

About This Literature Summary

This summary of the literature on Food Insecurity as a social determinant of health is a narrowly defined examination that is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all dimensions of the issue. Please note: The terminology used in each summary is consistent with the respective references. For additional information on cross-cutting topics, please see the Access to Foods that Support Healthy Dietary Patterns literature summary.

Related Objectives (4)

Here's a snapshot of the objectives related to topics covered in this literature summary. Browse all objectives .

Reduce household food insecurity and hunger — NWS‑01
Eliminate very low food security in children — NWS‑02
Increase fruit consumption by people aged 2 years and over — NWS‑06
Increase vegetable consumption by people aged 2 years and older — NWS‑07

Related Evidence-Based Resources (1)

Here's a snapshot of the evidence-based resources related to topics covered in this literature summary. Browse all evidence-based resources .

The Role of Law and Policy in Achieving the Healthy People 2020 Nutrition and Weight Status Goals of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Intake in the United States

Literature Summary

Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. 1 In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year. 2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, i but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity. 3

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides food insecurity into the following 2 categories: 1

Low food security : “Reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.”
Very low food security : “Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

Food insecurity may be long term or temporary. 4 , 5 , 6 It may be 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. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 In 2020, 28.6 percent of low-income households were food insecure, compared to the national average of 10.5 percent. 2 Unemployment can also negatively affect a household’s food security status. 10 High unemployment rates among low-income populations make it more difficult to meet basic household food needs. 10 In addition, children with unemployed parents have higher rates of food insecurity than children with employed parents. 12 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. 13 , 14 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. 2 Potential factors influencing these disparities may include neighborhood conditions, physical access to food, and lack of transportation.

Neighborhood conditions may affect physical access to food. 15 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. 16 Predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods may have fewer full-service supermarkets than predominantly White and non-Hispanic neighborhoods. 17 Convenience stores may have higher food prices, lower-quality foods, and less variety of foods than supermarkets or grocery stores. 16 , 18 Access to healthy foods is also affected by lack of transportation and long distances between residences and supermarkets or grocery stores. 16

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. 16 Lack of access to public transportation or a personal vehicle limits access to food. 16 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. 15 , 16 , 19 A study in Detroit found that people living in low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods travel an average of 1.1 miles farther to the closest supermarket than people living in low-income predominantly White neighborhoods. 20

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. 21 Another study found higher rates of chronic disease in low-income, food-insecure adults between the ages of 18 years and 65 years. 22 Food-insecure children may also be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes, including obesity. 23 , 24 , 25 They also face a higher risk of developmental problems compared with food-secure children. 12 , 25 , 26 In addition, reduced frequency, quality, variety, and quantity of consumed foods may have a negative effect on children’s mental health. 27

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. 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 Studies show these programs may reduce food insecurity. 29 , 30 , 31 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. 32 This additional evidence will facilitate public health efforts to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health.

i The term hunger refers to a potential consequence of food insecurity. Hunger is discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain caused by prolonged, involuntary lack of food.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (n.d.). Definitions of food security . Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/definitions-of-food-security/

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (n.d.). Key statistics & graphics. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx

Carlson, S. J., Andrews, M. S., & Bickel, G. W. (1999). Measuring food insecurity and hunger in the United States: Development of a national benchmark measure and prevalence estimates. Journal of Nutrition, 129 (2S Suppl), 510S–516S. doi: 10.1093/jn/129.2.510S

Jones, A. D., Ngure, F. M., Pelto, G., & Young, S. L. (2013). What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Advances in Nutrition, 4(5), 481–505.

Food and Agriculture Organization. (2008). An introduction to the basic concepts of food security . Food Security Information for Action Practical Guides. EC–FAO Food Security Programme.

Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Winicki, J. (2002). Frequency and duration of food insecurity and hunger in U.S. households. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34 (4), 194–201.

Sharkey, J. R., Johnson, C. M., & Dean, W. R. (2011). Relationship of household food insecurity to health-related quality of life in a large sample of rural and urban women. Women & Health, 51 (5), 442–460.

Seefeldt, K. S., & Castelli, T. (2009). Low-income women’s experiences with food programs, food spending, and food-related hardships (no. 57) . USDA Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84306

Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. (2007). Measuring food security in the United States: household food security in the United States, 2001. Economic Research Report (29).

Nord, M. (2007). Characteristics of low-income households with very low food security: An analysis of the USDA GPRA food security indicator. USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin (25).

Klesges, L. M., Pahor, M., Shorr, R. I., Wan, J. Y., Williamson, J. D., & Guralnik, J. M. (2001). Financial difficulty in acquiring food among elderly disabled women: Results from the Women’s Health and Aging Study. American Journal of Public Health, 91 (1), 68.

Nord, M. (2009). Food insecurity in households with children: Prevalence, severity, and household characteristics. USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin (56).

Coleman-Jensen, A., & Nord, M. (2013). Food insecurity among households with working-age adults with disabilities. USDA-ERS Economic Research Report (144).

Huang, J., Guo, B., & Kim, Y. (2010). Food insecurity and disability: Do economic resources matter? Social Science Research, 39 (1), 111–124.

Zenk, S. N., Schulz, A. J., Israel, B. A., James, S. A., Bao, S., & Wilson, M. L. (2005). Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit. American Journal of Public Health, 95 (4), 660–667.

Ploeg, M. V., Breneman, V., Farrigan, T., Hamrick, K., Hopkins, D., Kaufman, P., Lin, B.-H., Nord, M., Smith, T. A., Williams, R., Kinnison, K., Olander, C., Singh, A., & Tuckermanty, E. (n.d.). Access to affordable and nutritious food-measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences: Report to congress. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=42729

Powell, L. M., Slater, S., Mirtcheva, D., Bao, Y., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2007). Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Preventive Medicine, 44 (3), 189–195.

Crockett, E. G., Clancy, K. L., & Bowering, J. (1992). Comparing the cost of a thrifty food plan market basket in three areas of New York State. Journal of Nutrition Education, 24 (1), 71S–78S.

Seligman, H. K., Laraia, B. A., & Kushel, M. B. (2010). Food insecurity is associated with chronic disease among low-income NHANES participants. Journal of Nutrition, 140 (2), 304–310.

Hernandez, D. C., Reesor, L. M., & Murillo, R. (2017). Food insecurity and adult overweight/obesity: Gender and race/ethnic disparities. Appetite, 117, 373–378.

Gregory, C. A., & Coleman-Jensen, A. (n.d.). Food insecurity, chronic disease, and health among working-age adults . Retrieved March 10, 2022, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84466

Gundersen, C., & Kreider, B. (2009). Bounding the effects of food insecurity on children’s health outcomes. Journal of Health Economics , 28 (5), 971–983.

Metallinos-Katsaras, E., Must, A., & Gorman, K. (2012). A longitudinal study of food insecurity on obesity in preschool children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112 (12), 1949–1958.

Cook, J. T., & Frank, D. A. (2008). Food security, poverty, and human development in the United States. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136 (1), 193–209.

Cook, J. T. (2013, April). Impacts of child food insecurity and hunger on health and development in children: Implications of measurement approach. In Paper commissioned for the Workshop on Research Gaps and Opportunities on the Causes and Consequences of Child Hunger.

Burke, M. P., Martini, L. H., Çayır, E., Hartline-Grafton, H. L., & Meade, R. L. (2016). Severity of household food insecurity is positively associated with mental disorders among children and adolescents in the United States. Journal of Nutrition , 146(10), 2019–2026.

Bhattarai, G. R., Duffy, P. A., & Raymond, J. (2005). Use of food pantries and food stamps in low‐income households in the United States. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 39(2), 276–298.

Huang, J., & Barnidge, E. (2016). Low-income children's participation in the National School Lunch Program and household food insufficiency. Social Science & Medicine, 150 , 8–14.

Kreider, B., Pepper, J. V., & Roy, M. (2016). Identifying the effects of WIC on food insecurity among infants and children. Southern Economic Journal, 82 (4), 1106–1122.

Ratcliffe, C., McKernan, S. M., & Zhang, S. (2011). How much does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reduce food insecurity? American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93 (4), 1082–1098.

Larson, N. I., & Story, M. T. (2011). Food insecurity and weight status among U.S. children and families: A review of the literature. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40 (2), 166–173.

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Center for American Progress

The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People

Policymakers must reimagine the United States’ long-term approach to food production and distribution to build an equitable and sustainable system that works for all.

Strengthening Health, Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice, Climate Change, Climate Impacts, Food Insecurity, Poverty +3 More

Introduction and summary

Food is a fundamental human right, much like air and water. Yet hunger and food insecurity are widespread in the United States. In 2020, almost 14 million households—10.5 percent of the population—did not having enough food to meet their needs, 1 which greatly affected their health, well-being, and quality of life. From June 1 to June 13, 2022, almost 24 million households—including 11.6 million households with children under the age of 18—reported that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat during the week. More than 7 million households were food insecure despite receiving federal food and nutrition benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and almost 4 million of these households included children. Notably, low-income households of color, often led by single mothers, tend to have higher rates of hunger and food insecurity 2 due to historic and structural racism and discrimination in economic opportunity, employment, education, housing, and lending. 3

Defining food insecurity

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) refers to food security as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Food insecurity, then, can be understood as the lack of access to or the limited availability of nutritionally adequate foods that prevents all household members from leading active and healthy lives. Food-insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time, but food insecurity reflects the choices households sometimes need to make between meeting basic needs such as housing, health and child care, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods. 4

America’s acute hunger crisis hinders the success of its people—especially children and youth 5 —as well as its economic growth. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis, coupled with supply chain issues and other challenges, have resulted in rising prices for goods and services—including food. This has worsened the U.S. hunger crisis, shining a light on decades of policy failures in the U.S. food system and the racial and poverty-related disparities that have existed for far too long. 6

Read for an example of how the U.S. food system fails those most in need

A mother holding a bottle of formula visits a grocery store in Washington, D.C., with her son to look for baby formula during the U.S. shortage.

Addressing the Nation’s Infant Formula Crisis

May 26, 2022

Arohi Pathak , Hailey Gibbs

Policymakers must immediately take action to combat food insecurity and eliminate the root causes and barriers that prevent millions of individuals and families from succeeding. With several key pieces of food and nutrition legislation coming up for reauthorization in Congress, and with the recent White House announcement that a national conference on hunger, nutrition, and health will be held in September 2022, 7 the United States has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform all of the connected systems that address domestic hunger and food insecurity, focusing on building a whole-of-government, cross-sectoral approach to eliminating hunger.

This report outlines the long-term strategies necessary to end hunger in the United States:

Reduce poverty as an integral step to reducing hunger

Create more accessible and affordable food production and distribution systems.

Address the impacts of climate change and improve market competition to ensure long-term food sustainability for all

The report explains why, with the right interventions, hunger is wholly preventable and highlights interviews with Americans who have experienced hunger and food insecurity.

Hunger and food insecurity are wholly preventable

This nation knows how to fix the problem of hunger and food insecurity. Plenty of programs and services attack hunger and food insecurity from various angles—supporting mothers and babies, school-aged children, older adults, low-income workers, and more. These programs are designed to reduce hunger by supplementing incomes and lifting individuals and families out of poverty. 8

But reducing hunger is quite different from eliminating it entirely. The United States has the resources to build an equitable, sustainable food system that ensures no individual, child, or family goes hungry within its borders. However, this is impossible without the political will necessary to make bold decisions that prioritize the health, well-being, and economic security of everyone, not just the lucky few.

No one should have to wonder where their next meal will come from. We must take bold steps now—with government, the private sector, nonprofits, and communities working together—to build a healthier future for every American. Susan E. Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and former ambassador

Two upcoming legislative opportunities would allow Congress to take meaningful action to build a food system that is more affordable, accessible, and resilient. In 2022, Congress is due to reauthorize the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), 9 which authorizes all the federal child nutrition programs that reach millions of children and their families every day. In 2023, Congress is set to reauthorize the Farm Bill, which includes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, supplementing the food budget of vulnerable families so they can purchase healthy food and move toward self-sufficiency. And, as stated above, the upcoming White House conference offers an unprecedented opportunity to discuss a whole-of-government, cross-sectoral approach to reforming food systems and eliminating hunger.

Hunger’s impact on poverty and economic growth

Hunger plays a pivotal role in how economies function and thrive. When individuals, families, and their children are hungry, they struggle with high levels of toxic stress and have little bandwidth to do much more than meet their basic needs. 10 Food-insecure adults and children have higher rates of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and are at high risk for chronic diseases. 11 Hungry children are sick more often and can suffer from physical, developmental, and cognitive impairments, resulting in lower academic achievement than that of their peers. 12 In short, hunger weakens individuals and families; impairs their ability to reach their full potential; and creates a drag on the economy in the long term through increased health care costs, increased reliance on government programs, and high levels of economic precarity. 13 And the burden of hunger and food insecurity falls most heavily on low-income people, rural communities, people of color, women, children, older adults, and disabled people. Families with children, especially single-parent families, are also more likely to face hunger.

Fortunately, the United States has tools to address hunger. The USDA has a range of hunger and nutrition programs designed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and underserved, including infants and toddlers in child care, school-aged children, mothers and their infants, older adults, people with disabilities, Native communities, rural communities, and more. 14 The main goal of the USDA’s food programs is to improve access to nutritious foods and reduce food insecurity. 15 Furthermore, the agency’s food and nutrition programs can also help in reducing the hardship of poverty. When low-income and working Americans receive federal food and nutrition benefits, they can use money from their food budget for other necessities, including housing, child care, utilities, and transportation. This can help individuals and families become more financially stable.

Yet the USDA still has room to improve access and service delivery to meet the needs of all people. Its programs have limitations; they target the consequences of hunger, rather than its root causes. Policymakers must do more to confront the choices that have led to poverty and food insecurity in the United States.

The root causes of hunger are the policy choices that prioritize profits over people

America’s hunger crisis is not due to a lack of food production or scarcity in food supply. 16 Rather, hunger and food insecurity in the United States are symptoms of policy choices and an economic system that prioritizes the needs of corporations and the wealthy over those of the general population. 17 Across the nation, households experience hunger due to a combination of factors, including limited income from jobs that pay less than living wages; underemployment or unemployment, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic; few economic opportunities within communities; low rates of educational attainment; the nation’s history of discrimination based on race, gender, and disability; and more. 18 Millions of Americans who work full time or even at multiple jobs still find themselves in poverty due to low wages, unstable work schedules, and the high costs of child care, housing, education, transportation, and health care. Furthermore, policy choices that underfund state safety net programs or require individuals and families to jump through burdensome hoops to prove need have weakened the effectiveness of food safety net programs, resulting in a hunger crisis that is unprecedented in any peer industrial nation. 19 For example, to reload WIC benefits, some states require participants to mail in their benefit cards or travel to local offices every few months. In part because it was unsafe for many people to engage in such travel at the height of the pandemic, WIC saw a 9.3 percent decline from March 2020 to January 2021 despite increasing rates of child hunger. 20

A mother and daughter wait for assistance at a food hub.

How To Address the Administrative Burdens of Accessing the Safety Net

May 5, 2022

Justin Schweitzer

Simply put, while hunger is a direct result of poverty, it is further exacerbated by policy decisions that reduce funding, restrict eligibility, put time limits on participation, and create other onerous burdens that force low-income people to prove need. Such policy decisions serve to undermine the effectiveness of food and nutrition safety net programs, frequently leaving many of the most vulnerable Americans without access to lifesaving supports. 21 Although policymakers can make specific choices to address hunger, effective anti-hunger strategies must be centered in addressing the economic conditions that lead to hunger and reforming the policies that create systematic barriers.

Strategies to address hunger and food insecurity in the United States

The nation has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold action to create an equitable, sustainable food system that meets the needs of all individuals and communities. To inform these opportunities, this report offers the following strategies to eliminate food insecurity and hunger in the United States by anchoring solutions in the lived experiences of food-insecure mothers living in different areas of the country. 22

I would say 100 times over, it’s impossible to make policies that will be effective if you don’t include the people that will be impacted. If you’ve never lived it, then you don’t know. Stormy Johnson, single mother of three from Kingwood, West Virginia

Financial stability and economic empowerment is a necessary condition to ensure that everyone can meet their food and nutrition needs. Poverty and hunger are inextricably linked, and when individuals and families face financial precarity, they often must make tough decisions between putting food on the table and paying for necessities such as rent, electricity bills, child care, and more.

There should never be a situation where families need food and don’t have access. There shouldn’t be situations where people have to steal food. Deanna Branch, single mother of two from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

As federal nutrition programs alone cannot eliminate hunger, policies that focus on reducing poverty are essential. At the federal, state, and local levels, broad-based solutions that address poverty—such as increasing the federal minimum wage; offering workers paid family and medical leave and health care benefits; 23 and providing affordable housing and transportation as well as quality child care and educational settings—are necessary to help individuals and families build financial stability and meet their needs. Employers, too, can play a crucial role in increasing economic stability through workplace strategies, including by offering living wages, flexible schedules and paid leave, and affordable higher education and other opportunities for upward mobility. Research shows that more than half of food-insecure adults would experience a major positive impact on their household finances if they had access to higher-quality jobs. 24 As Stormy Johnson of West Virginia said, “Let’s change our programs to help those who are … working poor. We need programs to help people keep their heads above water.” 25

In addition, income supplement or cash assistance programs can go a long way toward helping low-income Americans increase labor force participation, build economic security, and better manage their family’s needs. 26 Consider the child tax credit (CTC), a program designed to help taxpayers with children support their families. The CTC was greatly expanded under the Biden administration’sAmerican Rescue Plan (ARP); it was made fully refundable, and full benefits were extended to approximately 27 million low-income children and children of color who would have otherwise received a partial benefit or none at all. 27 The ARP also increased the credit amount and distributed benefits on a monthly—rather than yearly—basis to help families meet ongoing needs. When the federal government began to distribute monthly CTC payments in July 2021, child poverty and food insufficiency among families with children dropped dramatically and immediately. The expanded CTC reduced monthly child poverty by almost 30 percent, and in December 2021, it reached 61.2 million children, keeping 3.7 million children out of poverty. 28

Millions of parents used their CTC payments to meet their families’ basic needs, including by using the credit for their food budgets, which helped decrease food insecurity by 26 percent in eligible households. 29 Yet despite the proven success of the expanded CTC, the monthly payments ended in December 2021 as the ARP’s temporary expansions expired. According to a May 2022 survey of 500 parents conducted by Parents Together Action, nearly half of respondents who received monthly CTC checks now say they cannot afford enough food to feed their families. 30 Javona Brownlee, a single mother of three from Virginia, understands this struggle. She is currently experiencing homelessness after losing her apartment because of black mold. As Javona explains, “The child tax credit helped a lot with groceries. When I was getting the CTC, it was definitely making a difference. I want the government to bring that [income support] back. I could really use that not just for groceries.” 31

Johnson concurs:

I’m kind of back to the situation I had before the monthly child tax credit, which was not eating so that my kids can eat, especially with the increasing cost of everything these days. The little bit of money I had left for food and gas after paying for everything else is now even less. Unfortunately, I’ve been having digestive and stomach issues recently, and I wonder if that’s connected to not eating. But if doing that means my kids can eat, I will do that every time.

A permanent, fully refundable CTC would improve the well-being and prospects of all American children and is one of the best anti-poverty investments the United States could make. Strengthening income support programs gives parents more financial stability and allows them to better manage their food budgets and meet the food and nutritional needs of their loved ones. An expanded earned income tax credit (EITC) and housing assistance are also critical means of support that can ensure stability and safety while individuals and families build financial security. 32

The Biden administration’s actions in 2021 did not eliminate hunger, but they certainly helped prevent severe hunger and food insecurity for millions of people. 33 Still, as the USDA points out, food assistance programs do not reach all populations equally. 34 Households with children, for example, are twice as likely to experience food insecurity as households without children. In 2020, Black and Hispanic Americans were 3.2 times and 2.5 times more likely, respectively, to be food insecure than white households. 35

Southern states experience higher hunger rates than northern states, on average, 36 mostly due to deliberate policy choices that have weakened their safety nets and suppressed wages. 37 Rural households are more likely than urban ones to face food insecurity and lack access to food in their communities. 38 And disabled adults faced food insecurity at more than twice the rate of their nondisabled counterparts in 2020, with non-working disabled adults three times more likely to be food insecure than nondisabled adults. 39

Food deserts are regions in which people have limited access to healthy, affordable food. The USDA defines food deserts as low-income census tracts where at least 500 people, or 33 percent of the population, live more than a half-mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store in an urban area or more than 10 miles from a grocery store in a rural area. Food deserts result from disinvestment, underinvestment, and historical exclusion of marginalized communities. 40 These inequities exist in rural, 41 Indigenous, 42 and urban 43 areas, all of which have unique characteristics that policymakers must address in order to promote access to affordable and culturally relevant foods. Estimates indicate that 18.8 million people, or 6.1 percent of the U.S. population, reside in a food desert, 44 putting them at great risk of diet-related health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Consider this: A family that uses SNAP assistance must drive 25 to 30 miles to the nearest Walmart for their food and grocery needs. They require not only access to a car but also money for gas and time for the trip itself. Low-wage workers, many of whom rely on SNAP, work in poor conditions, marked by inconsistent hours and the inability to schedule their shifts in advance. 45 These barriers only compound for marginalized groups, such as single mothers of color who are less likely to have access to child care 46 or disabled people who may be unable to drive, use public transportation, or transport groceries.

For the U.S. food and nutrition systems to work effectively to eliminate hunger and food insecurity, they need a strong and diverse distribution network that considers the unique needs of different communities, individuals, and families. People need access to grocery stores in their communities and within their neighborhoods. They need cars or affordable and accessible transportation that enables them to bring groceries home. They need jobs with livable wages, benefits, and consistent hours so that they can meet their families’ food and nutritional needs more effectively. People with disabilities need access to services such as online ordering and grocery delivery; as parent Deanna Branch told the authors, “I can have groceries delivered to my door through an app. And we can get fresh, quality food delivered to our door. I like that I don’t necessarily have to go out and go shopping, especially with my disability now.” 47

Due to the failures of the food system, individuals and families across the nation must rely on local nonprofits, food banks, and other charitable entities to meet their food needs. The spike in food insecurity during the pandemic increased reliance on food banks and pantries to supplement family food budgets and federal benefits that fell short of need. 48 But as food costs have increased by more than 10 percent in the past 12 months, 49 food banks, too, have struggled to maintain the increased demand for food supplies, 50 while taxing resources needed to cover the increased costs of refrigeration, vehicle maintenance, gas costs, and staff capacity. Reliance on food banks also sometimes means that people cannot get appropriate food, including food that is allergen free or that meets a specific nutritional need.

Lifting communities out of poverty is a long-term solution to food insecurity, but alleviating barriers to food access is the next step to achieving a community-based food system where communities develop their own foodways that are self-sustaining and less vulnerable to societal shocks. Strategies to take this step include:

Pass financing initiatives or zoning regulation changes to incentivize building supermarkets and local grocery stores in food deserts and underserved areas, similar to the S. Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit Program or a range of local policies around zoning. 51
Create food hubs by partnering with schools, community colleges, hotels, and other food-related businesses that can act as community food kitchens to provide storage and distribution capacity in communities that lack such infrastructure.
Incentivize food companies to sell to smaller, local grocers in addition to supermarket chains and corporations.
Connect federal food programs with local family farms, community gardens, and community-supported agriculture to provide fresh vegetables and fruits to individuals in food deserts.
Incentivize local grocers to accept food benefits such as SNAP, WIC, and others.
Pass a universal free school meals program so that all school-aged children have access to food.
Enable eligible participants to use their SNAP and WIC funds for online grocery delivery to make food more easily accessible.

Strengthen government safety net programs to make them more responsive

Strong safety net programs reduce poverty and hunger, improve health, increase economic mobility, and strengthen the national economy. These programs are intended to protect individuals and families from the effect of economic shocks, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Low-income and working people frequently turn to SNAP and WIC when grappling with hunger and food insecurity caused by job loss, underemployment, low wage employment, pregnancy, or other life events that necessitate additional support to weather economic precarity. 52 Such programs can be essential for low-income parents such as Deanna Branch, who attests to WIC’s lifesaving impact on her life: “When I was pregnant and a breastfeeding mom, [WIC] had so many nutritious foods available. A healthy pregnancy takes a lot of healthy nutritious foods. And it’s hard to find what to eat when breastfeeding. WIC really looked out for me … WIC really saved my life.” 53

SNAP, WIC, and other food programs also spur the economy. Every dollar in new SNAP benefits resulted in $1.74 in economic activity during the last recession. Eligible beneficiaries get $56 in value from every $1 the government spends on SNAP benefits. This money is immediately spent in local communities with around 80 percent of benefits redeemed within two weeks, and 97 percent spent within a month. 54 Despite the clear return on investment and the necessity of food security for survival, SNAP and other food safety net programs have not been comprehensively modernized in decades. The country’s outdated food safety net has resulted in a huge failure to get food to those in need during this crisis.

Even in good economic times, the nation’s fragmented safety net fails to serve all low-income individuals and families equally. 55 As mother Javona Brownlee puts it: “I receive food stamps [SNAP benefits], but sometimes I still have to go to the food bank … The food stamps are not enough to feed my family, especially with them being out of school [during the summer] and having to feed them three plus meals a day. I’m going to the food bank at least one a month.” 56

Safety net programs, including SNAP and WIC, frequently come under threat of reduced funding and expanded eligibility requirements—such as additional, punitive work requirements or the restriction of personal choice in the kinds of foods people can buy with their benefits—especially when conservative policymakers propose budget cuts to safety net programs in order to offset tax cuts for the wealthy or other spending priorities. Former President Donald Trump’s FY 2021 budget, for example, proposed more than $180 billion in cuts to SNAP, a nearly 30 percent reduction to the program over 10 years, 57 that underscored decades of attempts by conservative Republican leaders in Congress to restrict access to food assistance.

Not surprisingly, weakening safety net programs undermines their efficacy. SNAP, for example, is an automatic stabilizer and is available to individuals and families who are struggling with unemployment or temporary economic precarity. 58 But even before the pandemic, SNAP benefits fell short of meeting a family’s typical needs; in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, they averaged less than $1.40 per person, per meal, severely underestimating the cost of a healthy diet. 59 Furthermore, unlike other safety net programs, the maximum SNAP benefit amounts are fixed across the United States, despite regional differences in food costs. As a result, the maximum SNAP benefit per meal does not cover the average cost of a modestly priced meal in most regions of the country. Even when the USDA updated the SNAP benefit amounts in October 2021, the maximum benefit amount still fell short of the cost of meals in 21 percent of U.S. counties. 60

The Biden administration and the USDA addressed this shortcoming in pandemic-related legislation, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and American Rescue Plan Act, which temporarily removed barriers to receiving food assistance. 61 The administration also reevaluated SNAP benefits to account for inflation and family needs, modernizing the program and increasing benefits by about 25 percent—an average of $36.24 per person each month, or $1.19 per day. 62 This change represents the single-largest permanent increase in benefits in SNAP’s history, but it still does not provide adequate support to all who need it. 63 Receiving more food assistance through SNAP or other food programs allows households to use their limited food budgets to meet other basic needs such as rent, utilities, child care, and more. 64 But as many of the temporary pandemic-related safety net expansions—such as unemployment insurance and the eviction moratorium—expired in the last year, 65 low-income Americans again struggled to make ends meet. This further demonstrates the need for a robust and responsive safety net. 66

The federal government should expand and strengthen existing safety net programs by addressing gaps in access and making them more responsive to emergencies. Additional strategies to modernize food and hunger-related programs are discussed below.

Provide maximum access to federal food programs

Expanded access would give everyone, especially the most vulnerable, access to food and nutrition during times of emergencies or economic precarity. Policymakers should expand the emergency flexibilities—such as online enrollment and grocery access—included in pandemic-related legislation to ensure better access to program benefits. Furthermore, policymakers should codify a “no wrong door” approach. 67 for struggling residents to provide them with cash, food, and housing assistance as needed, link their eligibility to multiple benefit programs, and provide an authentic safety net. They should also incentivize collaboration and coordination between key government agencies to ensure that individuals and families struggling with economic precarity can quickly access the food benefits they need to stabilize their lives. Finally, the federal government should work alongside state and local government agencies and nonprofits to expand and improve participation in food, nutritional, and other government support programs.

Tailor SNAP and WIC benefits to where families live

Tailoring benefits would stabilize families’ access to food and give them more purchasing power to stretch their food budgets. States should provide people with more flexibility to access a wider range of food and nutrition products that meet familial and cultural needs. States should also expand benefits to low-income immigrants, students, Puerto Ricans, and citizens in other U.S. territories, 68 as well as enable eligible participants to use their SNAP dollars for online grocery delivery. Finally, policymakers should raise the WIC age limit for children from age 5 to age 6, to eliminate the gap in eligibility between WIC and being old enough to go to school, where children will receive school meals.

Focus on equity

The use of an equity lens when considering solutions would ensure that communities of color, single parents, older adults, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, college students, and residents of rural communities have access to affordable food and nutrition within their communities or along close and accessible transportation routes. Furthermore, federal and state policymakers should incentivize improved data collection and sharing across all programs that serve children and their parents or caregivers living in poverty to ensure that resources reach the most at-need populations.

Strengthen food and nutrition infrastructure

Policymakers should invest in food delivery services, food banks, mobile food pantries, and community-based food distribution sites such as schools and health centers. They should also incentivize stronger collaboration between federal, state, and local governments and private and nonprofit partners to build a wider, more resilient infrastructure for the provision of food and nutrition benefits. Additionally, federal and state policymakers should focus on updating their benefit infrastructure to ensure that participants have simplified access to enrollment and benefits, which will not only ease administrative oversight on case workers but also save costs through increased efficiencies.

Reduce administrative burdens that make accessing food programs so cumbersome

The federal and state governments must eliminate work requirements and asset limits, ease ID requirements, and reduce verification requests so that participants can access programs and benefits more easily, especially when they are dealing with economic precarity or a crisis in their life that necessitates reliance on benefits in the first place. The federal government should also incentivize collaboration and coordination with other relevant government agencies to streamline eligibility for, enrollment in, and access to benefits programs, especially during emergencies or when people need help stabilizing their lives. Finally, the federal government should waive time limits on how long people can receive benefits and expand eligibility during emergencies and climate-related events—such as flooding or wildfires—to ensure that no one goes hungry while trying to rebuild their life.

Strengthen coordination between the private, nonprofit, and public sectors

States and localities must expand and improve participation in federal nutrition programs to include all who need them by expanding food distribution, reducing food waste, and providing more accommodations, such as access to hot, prepared foods and beverages or online grocery ordering.

Address the impacts of climate change and improve market competition

Providing equitable and long-term access to food also requires a production system that is resilient and innovative in the face of future changes. This means adapting food production to meet the realities of a changing climate, a reduced dependence on fossil fuels in production and transportation, and a reversal of trends toward consolidation across the sector.

While the increases in overall agricultural production over the past half century are impressive, maintaining food availability in the face of a changing climate presents significant challenges. Food prices have risen over the past year due to climate change-driven droughts, 69 climbing input prices, 70 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 71 These price fluctuations are felt most acutely by food-insecure households.

Achieving national commitments to reduce emissions and address climate change would have significant implications for maintaining food security. There are also sector-specific opportunities to decouple current levels of food production from fossil fuel-derived inputs and make production systems more resilient to climate change. The agriculture sector is responsible for approximately 10 percent of annual emissions in the United States, and agricultural land also has the potential to sequester atmospheric carbon. Strategies that would make the food system more resilient to climate change and resilient to fossil fuel-driven price fluctuations include investing in decarbonization throughout the food production system—including inputs, harvesting, processing, and distribution—and offering technical assistance and incentives to agricultural producers that scale up climate-smart agricultural practices and conservation and restoration of nature to increase long-term sequestration and storage of carbon.

In addition to climate change affecting food prices and availability, the rising cost of food is due in part to competitive conditions at various steps of the food production and distribution process. When there is healthy competition in the market, prices tend to be lower. When competition is limited, however, prices can rise. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the impact of limited competition in the food supply chain. The U.S. meat processing industry, for example, is dominated by four large corporations that supply 55 to 85 percent of all beef, pork, and poultry consumed in the United States. In 2021, during the height of the pandemic, supply chain issues resulted in shortages across the country, and these corporations responded by dramatically increasing their price-cost margins—raising prices more rapidly than costs to take advantage of demand and increasing their profits accordingly. 72 This occurred even as millions of people were struggling to put food on their tables.

Headline-generating shortages of infant formula have also illustrated the risks of highly concentrated supply. Since a single manufacturing plant that provided the bulk of specialty and infant formulas was shut down in February 2022, parents and caregivers across the country have faced severe shortages and price gouging while seeking a vital necessity. 73

The National Baby Formula Shortage and the Inequitable U.S. Food System

Jun 17, 2022

Arohi Pathak , Marc Jarsulic , Osub Ahmed , 3 More Jill Rosenthal , Caroline Medina , Emily DiMatteo

Competition is limited in important parts of the agricultural supply chain, including in the production of important inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, and fuel, 74 in the processing of foods such as beef and pork, and in many local retail markets. This means that food prices are higher, and it is more difficult for consumers to buy basic food necessities. 75

Because farmers must plant and produce food without knowing sales prices in advance, higher costs of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and fuel increase farmers’ risk, causing them to produce less. When there is less competition in the market for inputs, the costs of those inputs increase, which in turn raises the price of food and causes food availability to decrease. 76 Six corporations now dominate the global market for seeds and agricultural chemicals such as herbicides and insecticides, and consolidation has contributed to higher prices. 77 Competitive conditions also affect fuel prices, an important agricultural input. Reduced U.S. refinery capacity since 2020 appears to have increased refiners’ market power, allowing them to increase the price of gasoline and diesel more than in proportion to already rising crude oil prices. 78 This year, fuel prices have also been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and increased refiner market power will lead to increased food costs.

A food system that only works for those who can pay premium prices or breaks down when confronted with a national emergency is a failure of massive proportions, threatening the health and well-being of millions of people across the country. Policymakers must address issues of market competition that hamper access to the nation’s food system, fostering a more sustainable and resilient system that ensures universal access to food and nutrition. They can do so by taking the following steps:

Address issues of market concentration by bringing new entrants into the food production system to decrease production costs and increase supply, availability, and affordability of critical foods.
Provide capital, loans, and other investments to small farmers, meat processors, food producers, and distributors to diversify the food system.
Reduce highly concentrated production of essential goods by encouraging antitrust enforcers to prevent additional consolidation and identify anti-competitive behavior by existing firms.
Direct relevant government agencies such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to monitor manufacturers and resellers for food price gouging behaviors , especially during times of emergencies and shortages.

Food is a fundamental human right necessary for survival, but the United States does not consider access to affordable, healthy food a right that necessitates governmental protection. As a result, the nation has a fragmented, broken food production and distribution system that fails to meet the basic needs of millions of people.

Yet it does not have to be this way. Traditionally, combating hunger is a bipartisan issue, 79 with many conservative policymakers supporting the programs and interventions designed to reduce hunger and food insecurity. As the United States stands on the precipice of several federal opportunities, including the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and the Farm Bill, to address hunger in a more substantive and resilient way, policymakers can build a food system that prioritizes eliminating hunger as a key criterion of reducing poverty and increasing well-being.

Building a long-term, equitable, and sustainable food system that focuses on unmet needs is critical to the nation’s economic growth and success. When people’s basic needs are met, they can focus on building their own financial stability and realizing their American dreams. This helps build a stronger, more resilient economy. But public nutrition assistance programs alone cannot eliminate hunger and food insecurity. To truly eliminate hunger, the United States needs a plethora of interventions and strategies that encompass a whole-of-government approach, with coordinated and collaborative partnerships with the private and nonprofit sectors to meet the unique food needs of various communities and populations.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Javona Brownlee, Deanna Branch, and Stormy Johnson for their invaluable insight and generosity in sharing their stories. The authors would also like to extend their gratitude to Anona Neal, Justin Dorazio, Calli Singer, Don Wolford, Kyle Ross, Suzanne Harms, Emily DiMatteo, and American Progress’ Editorial team for their invaluable support and guidance on this report.

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Stella Nordhagen, “The Impact of Higher Input Prices for Farmers, Food Security, and the Planet,” FoodTank, June 2022, available at https://foodtank.com/news/2022/06/the-impact-of-higher-input-prices-for-farmers-food-security-and-the-planet/ .
Pathak and others, “The National Baby Formula Shortage and the Inequitable U.S. Food System”; Pathak and Khattar, “Fighting Hunger.”
James M. MacDonald, “Mergers in Seeds and Agricultural Chemicals: What Happened?”, Economic Research Service, February 15, 2019, available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/february/mergers-in-seeds-and-agricultural-chemicals-what-happened/ .
Mohammad Torshizi and Jennifer Clapp, “Price Effects of Common Ownership in the Seed Sector,” The Antitrust Bulletin , 66 (1) (2021): 39–67, available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0003603X20985783 .
John Kingston, “The Loss of US refining capacity is helping drive record diesel prices—and it probably won’t improve anytime soon,” Freight Waves, June 14, 2022, available at https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-diesel-prices-soar-past-crude-refining-squeeze-challenges-oil-markets .
Erik Stegman and Nicole Williams, “30 Years of Tackling Hunger on a Bipartisan Basis Is in Danger of Failing This Fall,” Center for American Progress, September 16, 2013, available at https://www.americanprogress.org/article/30-years-of-tackling-hunger-on-a-bipartisan-basis-is-in-danger-of-failing-this-fall/ .

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Food Insecurity Among Students Essay

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Campus students deal with a lot more distress over interpersonal issues and classes. High food prices across campus constitute a significant challenge that many students experience. The challenge does not only affect students; it is a global challenge. In the year before the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, roughly 35 million Americans were food insecure (Raifman et al., 2021). The number has doubled significantly since March 2020 after the pandemic due to its ramifications (Raifman et al., 2021). A study has shown that a staggering 30% of all campus students experience food insecurity at some point in their college life (Owens et al., 2020). Due to high prices and cost related to textbook and transportation, campus students have very little money to use for their basic needs, especially food.

To counter this challenge of high prices, students are often forced to go hungry or at very low-quality food. Low-quality food is most affordable but contains little nutrition needed by the students. Nutrition is essential for campus students who require energy to fulfill the hard work that the college necessitates. Food is a basic need; without it being affordable for students on campus and insufficient funds for tuition and books, students cannot always feed themselves and stay afloat. It is essential to find a solution to the hunger of the campus students.

NY State Senate Bill S1151C relates to establishing a hunger-free campus act. The policy will address food insecurity among students in private and public higher education institutions. Commissioner will establish hunger free campus grant program to be awarded to campuses. The bill will send $10 million in state dollars to colleges and universities across the state to help tackle student food insecurity (Ny State Senate, 2022). The fund provided will address hunger and leverage a more sustainable solution for basic food needs on campus (Ny State Senate, 2022). The grant will also be essential to help raise awareness of current on-campus services that address food needs. The campus can use the funding to create SNAP enrollment opportunities, establish meal-swipe sharing programs, fund campus pantries and raise awareness about existing on-campus resources. Finally, the policy aims to continue building a strategic partnership at the state, local and national levels to address food insecurity among students.

Resources and systems must be in place at campuses to ensure no students go hungry. The policy funding may enhance the campus food distribution system available to students. The designated staff educates students on SNAP and other public services to reduce students’ food insecurity. Information on eligibility criteria and how to apply for benefits will be made available to students in need. Coordination in the institution will be enhanced, facilitating more enrollment to SNAP programs by the students. This will ensure the students do not have to choose between their education needs over food necessities.

Hunger results in a low immune system, making individuals susceptible to illnesses. Countering hunger issues on campus will ensure that the students are active, healthy, and not affected by stress-related mental challenges. Food resources for the student will benefit the community as a whole as the individuals can engage in activities to promote it. Healthy students make a healthier community with fewer cases of illnesses. Food security for the students will emphasize reciprocal interactions between people and their environments.

Ny State senate Bill S1151C . (2022). Web.

Owens, M. R., Brito-Silva, F., Kirkland, T., Moore, C. E., Davis, K. E., Patterson, M. A., Miketinas, D. C., & Tucker, W. J. (2020). Prevalence and social determinants of food insecurity among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic . Nutrients , 12 (9), 2515. Web.

Raifman, J., Bor, J., & Venkataramani, A. (2021). Association between receipt of unemployment insurance and food insecurity among people who lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States . JAMA Network Open , 4 (1), e2035884-e2035884. Web.

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food insecurity , the limited or uncertain access to nutritious food , which also includes limitations on the ability to obtain nutritious food in ways that are socially acceptable. Approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide (some 29.6 percent of the human population) experience moderate or severe food insecurity. Although food insecurity does occur in developed countries, the overwhelming majority of food-insecure people are concentrated in developing countries in Central and South America , Asia , and sub-Saharan Africa .

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) divides food insecurity into two categories, moderate food insecurity (characterized by reduced food quality and quantity, the tendency to skip meals, and rising uncertainty about obtaining food) and severe food insecurity (characterized by running out of food and going without food for a day or more). Moderate food insecurity is a condition that affected some 1.5 billion people worldwide in 2022, and severe food insecurity impacted an additional 900 million people.

The causes of food insecurity are varied and complex and stem from a number of human-driven and natural factors. Almost three-quarters of people who do not have enough to eat live in politically unstable countries. War and other forms of conflict may affect people in the midst of the fighting, and it may also affect those outside the immediate region. For example, the Russia-Ukraine War (2014–present) has reduced grain shipments from Ukraine to countries in sub-Saharan Africa that rely on them. Such supply-chain disruptions cause food shortages. In addition, increases in fertilizer and fuel costs raise food prices , which reduces the amount of food poor individuals and countries can purchase. Climate change also contributes to food insecurity. Floods , droughts , and other changing weather conditions destroy crops and livestock while interfering with people’s ability to work—further contributing to supply-chain disruptions.

Food insecurity also occurs wealthier countries . For example, in early 2023 roughly one in ten U.S. adults were food insecure because of any of several factors, which include having low income or lack of income, rising costs associated with housing and medicine , the inability to access the medical system, systemic racism and discrimination , and the creation of food deserts . The period of rising inflation in the U.S. that followed the COVID-19 pandemic combined with stagnant wages to result in lower discretionary income, which contributed to greater food insecurity. Food insecurity in wealthy countries can also be triggered by loss of employment, injury, unanticipated home repairs, and changes to government benefits that restrict and reduce the types of foods that can be purchased.

Food insecurity also contributes to poor health , since people may skip meals, eat less, or switch to lower-quality foods. Malnutrition can lead to weakness, pain , illness, and even death . Food insecurity also contributes to type 2 diabetes , obesity , and hypertension (high blood pressure ) when less-expensive foods with lower nutritional value are substituted for healthy foods over the long term. Existing health issues can be worsened if people forgo necessary medication or medical treatment in order to buy food. Children who live in food-insecure homes may have difficulty learning and may not develop properly. Food insecurity is associated with poor mental health , low educational attainment, and poor job performance.

Nearly one billion people experience hunger; however, there is enough food produced each year to feed the world’s population . Food insecurity stems from challenges to food availability, food access, and food utilization. Food availability involves ensuring not only that enough food is available to feed a population but that food supplies are available consistently. Food access, in contrast, involves having the resources necessary that give people the ability to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Broadly speaking, food can be made more available by increasing a population’s access to the resources that grow food (that is, fertilizer, water , and arable land) and to networks of food distribution. In addition, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and relief groups can improve the structures that provide people with jobs and other financial resources that help people purchase food, as well as helping them with food utilization—that is, the process of consuming a nutritious diet by having access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and the education necessary to both grow nutritious food (rather than low-nutrition food) and prepare it hygienically.

To attain these goals worldwide, international organizations have partnered with local governments and other groups. In 2012 the UN launched the Zero Hunger Challenge with the goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, as part of its global sustainable development objectives. In 2021 the UN held a summit to address hunger and consider the progress made by the Zero Hunger Challenge effort. While several UN organizations (including the World Hunger Programme and the FAO), lending organizations (such as the World Bank ), and relief groups (such as the Peace Corps ) continue to work with communities to prevent food insecurity, summit participants and organizers and a follow-on report (“ The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, ” produced by the FAO) revealed that hunger had increased through the late 2010s and early 2020s because of the effects of climate change, conflict, and the distribution challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They recommended that governments and NGOs work harder to improve sustainable food production and distribution systems through, for example, better communication between local and regional stakeholders, better management of water resources and fisheries , and accelerated financing to fund research, innovation , and the rollout of food-production projects.

At local, regional, and national scales there are a number of ways to reduce food insecurity. Shorter-term actions include donating to humanitarian organizations that provide food directly to people, funding food banks, and removing protectionist export bans, the last of which would allow surplus food stores to move to areas in need. Longer-term actions include creating community social nets (that is, assistance programs and services that provide poor individuals with resources), improving access to arable land, reducing food waste, coordinating efforts among various stakeholders from different economic sectors, finding peaceful resolutions to international conflicts, and implementing agricultural practices that combat climate change and economic policies that lower inflation and slow increases in the cost of living .

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Growing Cities, Growing Food Insecurity: How to Protect the Poor during Rapid Urbanization

Photo: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary by Marie Ruel

Published October 14, 2020

The Reset the Table essay series is published weekly, describing today’s challenges to global food security and proposing U.S. government responses.

The 2020 State of Food and Nutrition Security in the World (SOFI) estimates that close to 690 million people, or about 9 percent of the world population, did not have access to enough food or were “undernourished” in 2019. These statistics, however, assume that having enough calories is the only thing that human beings need to live a healthy and active life. This is not the case. To improve the accuracy of the information presented for the first time, the SOFI report also includes new measures of food security, which show that up to 2 billion people did not have access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food in 2019 and 3 billion could not afford a healthy diet. These new measures are much more in line with the 1996 World Food Summit comprehensive and widely endorsed definition of food security, which states that “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Clearly, food security measures based only on quantity of food grossly underestimate the magnitude and severity of the problem and reflect only one of the many aspects of what food security really entails.

Food Security in Urban Areas

Urban areas have traditionally been perceived as having less problems of food insecurity than rural areas, and this could be true if indeed only access to enough food mattered. Food in urban areas is generally plentiful and available in a variety of forms from fresh to prepared to packaged, in a number of retail outlets from traditional markets to corner shops to high-end supermarkets, and from local and international formal and informal restaurants and fast food chains. But abundance of food does not mean that everyone has equal access to nutritious foods and to safe, diverse, healthy, and affordable diets.

There is no global data on food security disaggregated by urban and rural areas, although many claim that food insecurity afflicts more rural than urban residents. In fact, the unique characteristics of life in urban areas makes the urban poor particularly vulnerable to food insecurity.

Urban areas are most afflicted by profound inequalities stemming from differences between socioeconomic groups, ethnicity, migratory status, location of residence (slums or formal settlements), city size, and a host of other factors. In India, we find that the nutritional status of poor slum dwellers is similar to those of rural populations, challenging the myth that urban dwellers are generally better off than their rural counterparts. In a forthcoming paper, our team shows that child stunting (low height for age), for example, is approximately 40 percent in both urban slums and rural areas of India, whereas adult overweight is worse in urban slums, affecting 21 percent of adults compared to 15 percent in rural areas. This double burden of malnutrition, which is characterized by the coexistence of problems of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, is severe in urban areas because of the rapid shifts in dietary patterns that result from exposure to the urban food environment , including abundance and excessive promotion of fast food, fried snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages, and ultra-processed foods.

There is no global data on food security disaggregated by urban and rural areas, although many claim that food insecurity afflicts more rural than urban residents. In fact, the unique characteristics of life in urban areas makes the urban poor particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Urban dwellers are almost entirely dependent on the cash economy and therefore need stable employment and income for their food needs, whereas many rural households have access to land and grow a significant proportion of the food they consume. An analysis of 20 low- and middle-income countries shows that urban households spend on average more than 50 percent of their budget on food and up to 75 percent in the poorest countries. This dependence on cash for food means that stable income and food affordability are the two most important determinants of food security and access to healthy diets in urban areas.

The Main Drivers of Food Insecurity in Urban Areas

For the urban poor, the challenges of achieving food security and accessing a healthy diet arise from some of the specific features of urban life. First, although income is critically important for food security and healthy diets, many poor urban households rely on low paying and insecure jobs in the informal sector . Women are also more likely to be actively engaged in the labor force and work away from home for long hours, often in jobs that are not amenable to taking a young child along. Because they may not have access to extended family or social networks, especially if they are new migrants to the city, they have to hire substitute childcare, which places an even greater financial burden on their family. This may also affect the quality of childcare and their children’s well-being, diets, and nutrition and health status.

With women spending long hours at work and commuting to and from work, their time for household chores, cooking, and childcare becomes scarce. Moreover, the precarious conditions in which many of the poor live in urban areas means they have limited access to kitchen or cooking equipment, electricity, refrigeration, and safe water, which prevents them from storing food or preparing meals for their family. Time scarcity and physical constraints results in many poor households opting for convenience and relying on ready-to-eat, prepared, and often packaged ultra-processed foods. Such meals are cheaper but of poorer nutritional quality than traditional diets, which take longer time to prepare. Eating out and purchasing meals from informal and non-regulated street vendors and informal restaurants also increases food safety risks and related illness.

In addition to income and food affordability constraints, the urban poor generally have less access to both formal and informal social protection support, such as cash or food transfer programs. Global evidence from 100 countries shows that poor urban households are less likely to be covered by social safety net programs; in middle-income countries, the urban-rural gap was found to be as high as 24 percentage points. Poor urban households also often lack potential financial or food support from extended family networks or informal friends or neighbor groups, especially in unsafe, high-crime environments. This lack of public or social support makes urban dwellers particularly vulnerable to income and food price shocks.

The unique features and drivers of urban food insecurity and unhealthy diets and the vast inequalities within urban areas require tailored programs and policies that specifically tackle the needs of the urban poor.

The consequences of severe food insecurity, and the coping strategies that the urban poor are often forced to adopt in times of crisis, can be extremely damaging for their children’s nutrition, health, and cognitive development in the short term. In the long term, this puts them at a greater risk of poor schooling performance, lower economic productivity, and increased susceptibility to overweight or obesity in adulthood. For older children and adults in households whose coping strategies involve shifting to cheaper sources of calories, including high consumption of ultra-processed foods , the resulting diets, which are low in protein and micronutrients and high in saturated fats, calories, sugar, and salt, increase their risks of overweight and obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases like diabetes, coronary heart diseases, and several types of cancer.

For the urban poor, these health and nutrition challenges are also compounded by a lack of access to health care, safe water and sanitation facilities , and a greater exposure to contaminants and air pollution. Once again, these conditions affect slum dwellers disproportionately and deepen inequalities in health and nutrition outcomes.

Supporting the Urban Poor

With urbanization intensifying in Africa and Asia, the projected population growth is expected to add 2.8 billion urban residents by 2050. Thus, the challenge of addressing urban food security and healthy diets can no longer be ignored. The unique features and drivers of urban food insecurity and unhealthy diets and the vast inequalities within urban areas require tailored programs and policies that specifically tackle the needs of the urban poor. The Covid-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis have disproportionately affected urban populations, especially the previously non-poor who, at least in Africa, are suffering the greatest income losses . Immediate attention needs to be directed to urban populations, with a focus on the following priority areas:

Leverage food systems to increase availability, access, and affordability of nutritious foods, and consumption by the urban poor. Examples include:
Strengthen urban-rural linkages and support value chains for perishable, high-value nutritious foods (including fruits and vegetables, dairy, poultry, and fish) to boost consumption of these foods by the urban poor;
Support women and men in the informal agriculture and food sector through trainings, financial support, and infrastructure to improve hygiene, food safety, and the nutritional value of the foods they sell; and
Where policies allow, support or expand urban agriculture to increase the urban poor’s consumption of a diversity of nutritious food, such as fruits and vegetables;
Tailor and target social safety nets to support the livelihoods, income, food security, and healthy diets of urban dwellers and protect them from seasonality, climate, health, and other shocks and vulnerabilities. Examples include:
Providing targeted cash, food transfers, or vouchers for nutritious foods to poor urban households; and
Providing free healthy school meals and educating school children in healthy diets and lifestyles, especially those living in urban slums and other poor urban environments.
Design and target education campaigns combining mass media and targeted messaging through mobile technologies and promotion in markets and other retails frequented by urban poor households to convey key messages about nutritious foods and healthy diets and lifestyle, and to reverse current trends showing rapid rises in consumption of cheap calories from unhealthy ultra-processed foods.
Address inequalities in the access of poor urban dwellers to services , including health care, water, sanitation, waste removal, and electricity services, and lift the access and utilization barriers faced by urban dwellers where services are available.

In order to design successful programs and policies that address the realities of urban life and the specific needs of the most vulnerable, investments in research are needed to characterize the specific challenges and the opportunities to support the urban poor and to test solutions that can be scaled up. The current state of evidence on urban food security, diets, nutrition, and health and their drivers is shockingly outdated and scattered . The existing evidence cannot provide the type of information needed to guide policy. In this area in particular, action is needed urgently.

Marie Ruel is the director of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division and a member of CGIAR’s Agriculture for Nutrition and Health’s program management committee.

Commentary is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

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Fighting Food Insecurity Occurs at All Ages—But Two Populations May Get Overlooked

Food insecurity doesn’t discriminate by age. Millions of Americans—from college students to senior citizens—lack access to adequate, nutritious foods every year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some food assistance programs changed their operations and requirements to help meet the moment. Such changes included federal assistance for college students and older adults.

Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our recent reports on food insecurity among college students and older adults , and how COVID changed the programs they rely on.

Photo showing a food pantry on a college campus for students experiencing food insecurity. Shelves of mostly canned goods.

Food insecurity among college students can have long-lasting impacts

Students may receive financial assistance to pay for the cost of college, including living expenses such as food and housing, while enrolled. Indeed, the federal government spends billions each year on grants, loans, and work-study funding to help make college more affordable. Yet, many students still cannot afford basic necessities like food.

About 3.8 million college students reported experiencing food insecurity in 2020. A majority of these students reported eating less than they should or skipping meals because they couldn’t afford enough food.

Bar chart showing food security among college students in 2020.

Beyond the impacts to their health, food insecurity—and the hunger that may result—can negatively affect students’ academic success. Studies have found that students who experience food insecurity are more likely to have lower grades and are less likely to graduate compared to their peers. Some may even drop out altogether because of limited or uncertain access to food.

Some of these students may qualify for food assistance under SNAP—the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits, which used to be known as “food stamps.” SNAP is the nation’s largest such program for low-income households.

We analyzed Department of Education data and estimated that fewer than 2 in 5 food insecure students would have met the requirements needed to be eligible for SNAP had they applied. Of these students, most (59%) didn’t report receiving SNAP benefits in 2020.

Some of the SNAP requirements for college students include working while in school or being a single parent, among other things.

What impact did the pandemic have on college students’ access to SNAP?

During COVID-19, Congress temporarily expanded SNAP eligibility to certain students:

Those who were eligible to participate in state or federally funded work-study during the regular academic year, as determined by their college, and
Those who had an Expected Family Contribution of $0 during the academic year on their FAFSA federal aid application—including students who were eligible for a maximum Pell Grant award.

We estimated that extending eligibility to students who had an Expected Family Contribution of $0 expanded SNAP eligibility to an additional 1 million students in 2020. This resulted in an estimated 4.4 million total students being potentially eligible for benefits. These temporary expansions expired in June 2023, following the end of the public health emergency.

Our new report is the first of two about college students and food insecurity.

Older adults facing food insecurity may also struggle accessing available services

Recent data shows that approximately 18% of older adults in the U.S. experience food insecurity. Lack of mobility can further impact older adults’ access to food. Seniors with mobility limitations are particularly vulnerable to isolation and may not be able to access food programs that require them to drive to pantries or other locations. They also may not be able to travel to grocery stores.

During the pandemic, many nonprofits and public pantries stood up programs to deliver meals to older adults in need. Indeed, there was a slight increase in the number of seniors who received home-delivery meals during that time. The shift to home delivered meals was part of an effort to continue providing services while not spreading COVID or putting vulnerable seniors at risk of COVID’s health effects.

But since the pandemic’s state of emergency ended, there may have been a reduction in the overall number of meals provided to seniors. This could potentially reduce seniors’ access to the food assistance they had during the pandemic.

You can learn more about this issue by reading our June report .

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When it Comes to Food, is the New York Times Out to Lunch?

A new series highlights western myopia on climate and agriculture.

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Journalists, academics and policymakers often talk about the “global food system.” But if there is such a thing, it isn’t really global, it’s only partially about food, and it’s not very systematic.

To be sure, some food commodities flow around the world. Grains, food oils, fish, and even meat can travel vast distances before they’re forked, spooned, or shoveled into a consumer’s mouth. Yet to describe the process by which Earth’s 8 billion people get their daily sustenance as a single “global food system” is a simplification.

Populations in wealthier regions enjoy the benefits of globally-sourced groceries, but billions (of often poorer people) around the world depend on much more localized trade, combined with some external sources of food—some from trade and most from aid.

Simply put, the “global food system” is really many food systems, each with its own flavors, luxuries, and standards.

So when people in western media refer to the “global food system,” what they’re often referring to is either something close to the American food system—that is, the network by which consumers in the United States get their food—or to global food prices. Global food prices are only partially about food; they’re largely driven by the price of energy, which is used to produce the nutrients needed to grow food or is produced directly from agricultural production in the case of biofuels.

Cue The New York Times opinion section. In a note announcing a new series titled “ What to Eat on a Burning Planet ,” Times opinion climate editor, Eliza Barclay, states that “we can see the early tremors [of climate change] starting to rattle the global food system.” The ongoing series includes pieces about the climate impacts on American grocery prices, a plea for drought-tolerant fine dining, a lament about the future of natural vanilla flavoring, and an ode to beans in American cuisine.

With few exceptions, the series reflects elite preferences and Western blinders, and confuses U.S. fine dining, high cuisine, and luxury goods with the “global food system.” What does a $235 dollar tasting menu in Australia really tell us about a “revolution in consumption,” let alone food policy?

More importantly, however, the series underlines the lack of understanding—even by those writing for the New York Times —about how food is produced. Climate change may shift what food can be grown, where, and how much consumers must pay for it, but these changes are small when compared to the shifts unlocked by technological progress or societal change—both of which have long been the most significant drivers of food systems change.

The Climate of Hunger

In the opening essay of the series, journalist David Wallace-Wells offers a pessimistic view of what climate change might do to food production. He points to the fact that global hunger had been declining for decades but has recently ticked upwards.

A recent report from the Global Network Against Food Crises and the Food Security Information Network found that more than 280 million people in 59 food insecure countries faced “high levels of acute food insecurity” in 2023, an increase of almost 24 million people from 2022. But, despite these recent upticks in food insecurity, global rates of hunger remained on a downward, if stagnating, trend. The Global Hunger Index , designed to comprehensively track hunger levels, marked a decline in hunger both globally and in almost all regions—Latin America and the Caribbean, excepted—between 2015 and 2023 (See figure).

Wallace-Wells argues that this recent uptick in food insecurity is a result of climate impacts reducing agricultural productivity. As evidence, he points to a 2021 Cornell University study . But this study did not find that climate change reduced agricultural productivity . Rather, it found that significant gains in agricultural productivity would have been even larger without climate change . And yet “The climate impacts to come,” Wallace-Wells insists, “loom even larger.”

Changes to the climate do not appear to be the main cause of this most recent increase in hunger; they are listed as the third-leading cause of food insecurity behind conflict and economic crises. Negative weather shocks which impact food supply may not have much to do with climate change. Hot and dry weather caused by the El Nino Southern Oscillation—a scourge on food supply for as long as agriculture has been around—is often the main driver of weather-related agricultural challenges .

Conflict in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine have played a significant role by driving up prices, disrupting global trade networks and increasing food insecurity in poor countries. The Russian invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago sent shockwaves across the world. While initial disruptions have passed, the long-term impact of that conflict is still being felt in grain and cooking oil-importing countries. Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world on its head, causing lasting economic impacts.

Over the past 50 years , the global mean temperature has increased by over 1 degree celsius. In that time, global agricultural output has increased four-fold, and agricultural total factor productivity (a measure of productivity that includes outputs divided by all inputs) has increased by just under 80%. Meta-analyses cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that since 1960, climate change has decreased yields for wheat by 4.9%, maize by 5.9%, and rice by 4.2% compared to a hypothetical world without climate change. But those declines are tiny when compared to the global increase in yields in the same period.

Climate change, at least to date, has played a much smaller role in determining agricultural productivity than factors like technological adoption, social change, and economic growth. And while positive trends in agricultural productivity may become more difficult to maintain in the future, there is little evidence to suggest that they will be out of reach altogether.

Even if climate concerns aren’t warranted, Wallace-Wells’ solution for them—raising agricultural productivity—is crucial for feeding a growing population while minimizing the impact on the local environment. Research and development for hybrid seeds, water control, and other agricultural technologies will drive productivity growth in countries like the United States that already employ technologically advanced farming practices.

Fine Dining and Good Smells

It wouldn’t be the New York Times without a focus on fine dining and the preferences of coastal elites.

Essayist Aaron Timms’ “ Fine Dining Can’t Go On Like This ” argues that American haute cuisine must learn from Australian chefs who have found a way to highlight drought-resistant foods on their menus. A noble cause, to be sure. Timms does not mention the ingredients that are the largest users of water in most fine-dining establishments: meat and dairy.

And it is more than a stretch to claim that we are now in an era of “chronic drought,” as Timms poses. According to the IPCC, soil moisture (a common measure of drought relevant to agriculture) shows large spatial variability and no global trend over the past several decades. Using climate models to project the future, the IPCC shows that we are quite uncertain about even the direction of expected change and that there is a strong possibility of increases in soil moisture over much of the world’s land surface. One reason long term changes in drought are so hard to detect and project is that natural variability is simply much larger than any long-term trend induced by human-caused climate change.

But the real problem with Timms’ essay lies in its basic conceit: that fine dining must reckon with climate change. In reality, it does not need to. Fine dining is just that—fine. It is expensive, exclusive, and not very impactful on drought, heat, or anything else to do with the climate. There are about 2500 Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. If every one of these restaurants served 100 people a day each (a massive stretch), they’d be feeding only 250,000 people daily; total calories served up would be a rounding error on global food consumption.

You could argue that fine dining sets the standard for how the rest of us eat. Regardless, the impact is just nowhere near as grand as the restaurants’ purveyors may like to believe.

Timms’ essay is not alone in confusing elite conundrums with global challenges. In “This is How the World’s Favorite Scent Disappears,” poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil reflects on what climate change might mean for the flavor and smell of natural vanilla. She frets that increasingly chaotic weather patterns may threaten the tiny regions in which vanilla beans are grown, thereby threatening the flavor and smell that we love in ice cream, perfume, and more.

Nezhukumatathil writes, “Most people I know who brood and despair over climate change might know that extreme weather could soon threaten crops like corn and coffee. But you probably haven’t fathomed what it would be like to lose the scent and the taste of real vanilla.” In reality, natural vanilla is not something that most of us will ever smell or taste. Between 95 and 99 percent of products containing vanilla are made from synthetic vanilla flavoring , not the actual vanilla bean itself. In fact, vanilla bean has always been a luxury good, costly to grow and even more expensive to purchase.

And it’s not climate change that is making vanilla expensive. A recent surge in the popularity of natural vanilla has increased demand, thereby raising prices. Storms or other weather-related events may well have something to do with prices, but that has held true since the 15th century when the Totonac people began to grow and use vanilla in what is now Mexico.

Putting the Global into Global Food Systems

The New York Times is right that we need investment in the U.S. food system. But the real challenge lies in Africa and in Asia, where most of the world’s poor live. In these regions, people do not have enough food to eat—only 56 percent of Indians can afford three meals a day. In the poorest parts of Africa, farmers have not yet adopted some of the most fundamental 20th-century agricultural technologies such as fertilizer, tractors, irrigation, and modern crop breeds. These farmers are most affected by extreme heat and coastal flooding, driven by climate change. We need an honest and practical discussion about what it takes to grow enough food to feed the billions of poor people who live in the non-Western world.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s farmers desperately need to raise yields. In many cases, the innovations farmers need have been in existence for decades, but have yet to reach rural areas. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Sudan, increased yields will not come from yet-to-be discovered high-tech innovations, but from the application of tried and true productivity-boosting technologies such as synthetic fertilizers, machinery, cold storage, hybrid seeds, and irrigation.

Some of these technologies come with climate concerns. Fertilizer uses natural gas as a feedstock. Irrigation and cold storage require the use of fossil fuels. But yield-increasing technologies like fertilizer and irrigation are nonetheless beneficial to humans and to the environment; they enable local communities to grow more food on less land and decrease reliance on rainfall. Extreme heat, drought, and floods have negative impacts, but we have the technological means to overcome them and to raise yields, both now and in the future.

In many ways, the problem with the so-called ”global food system” is that it is not global enough. We may have a system of global food prices, but producers in food insecure regions of the world lack access to the technologies and inputs that have made places like the United States so agriculturally productive. Perhaps then, when everyone in the world has the opportunity to be concerned with haute cuisine and luxury food products, the New York Times could produce good food coverage.

Vijaya Ramachandran

Alex Smith is Editorial Director at Breakthrough.

African farmers need access to synthetic fertilizer now, the west needs to come to grips with african fertilizer needs, food is too cheap, says the un.

Breakthrough Journal

No. 20 / spring 2024.

News & Resources

No Food Security Without Resilience: UNDP's Call to Action to Build Food Systems Resilience

August 12, 2024.

Simon Cooper

Communications Specialist, UNDP Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems

Speaking on World Environment Day 2024, UN Secretary General António Guterres stepped up his climate warnings, saying that “we need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell.”

He added that "those least responsible for the crisis are hardest hit: the poorest people; the most vulnerable countries; Indigenous Peoples; women and girls. The cost of all this chaos is hitting people where it hurts from supply-chains severed, to rising prices and mounting food insecurity."

Against this backdrop UNDP has prepared a White Paper on food systems resilience and transformation, researched and written by a cross-disciplinary team, to identify how to transform food systems to combat hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss. The problems are even greater in crisis contexts where conflict impacts food systems and increased food insecurity can fuel grievances which may escalate into instability and violence. This blog, the second in a series, looks at some of the key Dimensions the Team has identified.

At the heart of the White Paper, to be released imminently, is a call to action for resilience and sustainability in every part of the food system.

UNDP Global Head of FACS Andrew Bovarnick said: "The White Paper was prepared by a specially convened group of experts across UNDP’s Inclusive Growth, Climate, Nature, Resilience, Governance, Sustainable Finance and Crisis programmes. The need for this breadth of expertise shows us the complexity of Food Systems Resilience and the raison d'être to approach transformation in a holistic manner. This is the first time that a team of this breadth and seniority has been assembled within UNDP to address the challenge of Food Systems."

Four dimensions to build Food Systems resilience

In the massive undertaking to build resilience in Food Systems, the team identified 4 key Dimensions:

graphical user interface, application, website

Food Systems Governance sets the context that the system works within;

Structural Drivers define the challenges that the food system faces, these are:

a. Poverty and Inequality , which can be challenged by better social protection mechanisms and support for smallholder producers;

b. Healthy and safe diets are enhanced by sustainable and diverse food production that is available and affordable for everybody;

c. Gender transformative policies which secure women’s rights and control over resources;

d. Environment concerns can be met by mainstreaming food systems in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans;

e. In Climate Change where agriculture offers significant benefits in both mitigation and adaptation;

f. Energy from renewable sources will power the transformation.

the Food Value Chain represents the diversity (or lack of it) in the system and fairness of distribution of risk and reward;
and Sustainable Finance determines the economic and business structures which support the food system.

Around all this loop the triple hazards of Fragility, Conflict and Crisis , ever ready to knock the system off course and into a state of recovery, hopefully to resilience.

As the cross-disciplinary team concludes their research, the focus turns to action and barriers to change – what needs to happen for the White Paper’s recommendations to take effect?

Lead author and UNDP Senior Advisor Jose Luis Chicoma said: "We need to be clear on the scale of the undertaking in front of us: with increasing numbers of people going to bed hungry, the triple planetary crises, and persistent social and income inequality for smallholder farmers, the challenges for this transformation are immense . At the same time, food systems are cross-sectoral, providing a unique opportunity to adopt a systemic approach: this process means transcending the siloed and sectoral approaches that have not worked in the past. We need a paradigm shift in international development, able to navigate the complexities and power dynamics involved in food systems."

Governments are key to implementing activity in these Dimensions, as well as setting the "rules" of the system at the overall Food Systems Governance level supported by UNDP’s "whole-of-government" approach in 170 Country Offices worldwide. With the right supporting mechanisms, institutions and platforms that embrace the complexity of the food system and its power imbalances, the White Paper’s recommendations could be the tipping point we need into Food Systems Transformation.

José Luis Chicoma concludes: "Both by addressing immediate drivers of food insecurity and long-term systemic weaknesses that could trigger food insecurity, there has never been a more critical time to grasp the moment, break down the silos which obstruct progress, and build collaborative solutions for future food systems that are sustainable, inclusive and equitable, healthy, and resilient, serving both people and planet."

There is more on UNDP’s call to action for a new vision in the latest report Navigating Complexity in Food Systems: From Clockwork To Cloudwork .

Food transformation is stuck: UNDP plots a way forward

10 ways forward to transform food systems for climate and nature

How do we target deforestation in complex settings?

How do we know the systems change we work for is happening?

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Admit-a-bull // official admissions blog, college resources for homeless, unhoused and housing-insecure students.

By Emily Young | Last Updated: Aug 14, 2024

If a housing crisis hits during your high school or college years, it can upend your educational plans. “When life happens, it never sends us a text to let us know that it’s coming. It just happens,” says Jenelle Bell, senior support coordinator at the University of South Florida’s Department of Student Outreach and Support. More than 1.5 million college students in the U.S. are homeless. Thankfully, people like Bell are here to help.

Whether you’re applying for college or trying to stay on track for graduation, there are tons of resources designed for students who are homeless or housing insecure. Depending on your school and which state you live in, these resources can include:

Application fee waivers.
Tuition assistance.
Student support staff to help you navigate your situation.
Housing support.
Campus food pantries.

Let’s take a closer look at college resources available to homeless, unhoused, and housing-insecure students.

How Do I Know if I’m Considered Homeless?

There are different definitions of homelessness depending on what state you live in and which program you are applying for. For this blog post, we’re going to paraphrase the definition used by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. You are considered homeless if any of the following applies to you:

You don’t have a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence. (Adequate means that it is safe and private and includes water, electricity, heat, etc.)
Your nighttime residence is either a public space or a private area that isn’t intended as a place for people to sleep.
You live “doubled up” with other people because you’ve lost your previous housing or have experienced financial hardship. (This can also include “couch surfing” between the homes of friends or relatives.)
An emergency or transitional shelter.
The street.
A hotel or motel.
A trailer park (depending on the circumstances).
A park or campground.
An abandoned building.
A public area.
A bus or train station.
A hospital.
Substandard housing.

If you’re not sure whether this definition applies to you, but you’re still worried about your housing situation, contact one of the people we list in the next section to confirm your status. Housing insecurity comes in many forms, and everyone’s situation is unique. It never hurts to find out what resources are available to you!

Who Can Help Me Access College Resources for Homeless Students?

The best person to contact depends on your situation — whether you’re still in high school, are applying for college, are already enrolled in college, etc. Keep this in mind: Even if you graduated high school a while ago, you may still be eligible for assistance because some programs do not specifically cite an age cap. Again, it’s always a good idea to reach out and see what’s available to you. Contact one of the following people:

Your High School Counselor

If you’re still in high school, your guidance counselor can assist you with everything from fee waivers for college entrance exams to finding a school that best fits your needs. The sooner you visit your high school counselor — begin as early as freshman year — the sooner you can get started on college prep .

The Homeless Education Liaison for Your School District

Every school district should have a homeless education liaison that helps students understand and access eligible services. Ask your high school counselor to connect you to the right person, or you contact your liaison directly by searching for “homeless education liaison” on your state’s department of education website (the Florida Department of Education, for example). Here is the contact directory for liaisons in Florida, organized by school district.

Your Prospective College’s Admissions Department

If you’re in the process of applying to college, the admissions department is an invaluable resource. Admissions staff can tell you how to apply for application fee waivers or tuition assistance (more on this later) and assist you if you have trouble finding or uploading required documents. Not every admissions officer at every school will be an expert in helping unhoused applicants, so keep trying until you find a person who is passionate about this issue.

In USF’s Office of Admissions, Malcolm Randolph goes out of his way to assist college-bound students who are housing or food insecure: “I prefer handling these students with the care that I know they need,” says Randolph, the director for special populations admissions. “I’m going to offer that personal one-on-one opportunity between me and my team to help walk them through the admissions process.”

Your School’s Student Support Office

It’s easy to get frustrated when you encounter roadblocks or unsupportive people, but don’t give up. “Find someone to advocate for you if you aren’t able to advocate for yourself,” says Bell. “I have found there’s going to be someone at a university that supports underserved youth at your institution — find out what the space looks like.” At USF, it’s the Office of Student Outreach and Support.

A woman and a man having a conversation at a table.

How Do I Get a College Application Fee Waiver?

If you are homeless or meet any of these other qualifications (such as receiving income-based assistance), you will qualify for an application fee waiver. Your school may require you to submit documentation to prove your eligibility. If you need help with this part, reach out to one of the people we mentioned above, like your high school counselor.

USF will waive your admissions application fee if you can show evidence that the fee creates severe financial hardship and serves as a deterrent to your ability to seek admission.

Can I Get Tuition Assistance as a Homeless Student?

Some U.S. states offer free college tuition if you are unhoused. For example, in Florida, homeless students are granted free tuition and fees at a Florida College System institution or state university. However, you’ll still have to pay for textbooks and living expenses like housing and food. That’s why it’s important to apply for additional financial aid.

Start by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) . The FAFSA qualifies you for federal and state financial aid including grants, loans, and work-study money, which you can use to help pay your living expenses. Your college also uses this information to award you aid. Be sure to complete the FAFSA by the deadline.

Check with the school you want to apply to see if you need to submit any additional financial aid applications. USF automatically considers you for merit-based scholarships as long as you apply on or before January 15.

If you have questions, reach out to:

Your guidance counselor or homeless education liaison.
Your college’s financial aid office.
Your college’s financial education program. At USF, this is called BULL2BULL .
The learning resources center on campus. Tutors can give you tips on writing standout essays for scholarship applications .

How Do I Fill Out the FAFSA if I’m an Unaccompanied Homeless Youth?

Nobody likes spending an hour filling out financial aid paperwork — but it can be especially confusing if you do not have a parent or guardian. If this is your situation, you can fill out the FAFSA as an “independent student,” which means you don’t need your parents’ financial information or their signature. You can be termed an independent student by any of the following:

Your local homeless education liaison
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shelter program director or its designee
A Runaway and Homeless Youth Act shelter director or its designee
A college financial aid administrator

What Housing Resources Do Colleges Provide Homeless Students?

As we’ve established, housing resources vary by state and school. Some states, like California , have created rapid rehousing programs to assist homeless students at public higher ed institutions.

Even if your state doesn’t provide housing assistance, your school can get creative. For example, your school might partner with community programs that temporarily house students in the homes of local residents. Ask your school’s student support office how they help students in your situation.

Although the University of South Florida does not currently offer emergency housing or aid, students can apply to stay on campus during academic breaks for an additional fee.

What Resources Do Colleges Provide Food-Insecure Students?

There’s a good chance your school will have a food pantry. In the U.S., the number of on-campus food pantries has grown from 80 to 800 in just ten years.

USF’s Feed-a-Bull pantries serve food-insecure students on each campus. Browse the food pantry aisles or place a customized order online. On the Tampa campus, you can have your order sent to a refrigerated locker to pick up after hours.

What if I’m Not Comfortable Disclosing that I’m Homeless or Housing/Food Insecure?

College staff members understand that it can be hard to disclose vulnerable information about yourself.

“Yes, it’s going to be uncomfortable, but the bigger picture is: We are here to help,” says Bell. “We also understand that many of our students have not been treated well by people, so building trust is something that is going to be hard. But in order to transition to any type of positive change, you’re going to have to lean into something or someone…. It’s hard to go through life alone. It’s doable, but it’s so much easier when you have support.”

Some of the people you talk to may have gone through similar circumstances. “I am a first-generation college student,” says Randolph. “I’m from a small rural town in South Florida, which was at one point considered the poorest city in the state of Florida. Because of my humble beginnings and opportunities that I’ve been given due to my education, I prefer being the person with the lived experience working with these students.”

Like Bell, Randolph acknowledges that it’s not always easy to have these conversations. “I know what it’s like — the uncomfortable feeling of meeting someone in a college setting… and disclosing some of the most insecure things about yourself.” He listens with compassion, empathy, and respect — which is what you deserve during every conversation with college staff.

What Other Campus Resources Should I Know About?

Many four-year universities offer well-rounded resources for students, including:

Career services . This is where you can start planning for your future career, but it’s also a great place if you need help finding a job right now . Some schools even let you “rent” professional clothing for free, so you can show up for your job interview or your first week of work looking — and feeling — your best.
Health centers . From primary care to immunizations, nutritional counseling to physical therapy, universities like USF provide robust health services . Students at USF are not required to have insurance to access services, and providers do their best to keep costs affordable.
Student support . We’ve already talked about the importance of finding a department that serves your needs. At USF’s Office of Student Outreach and Support , you can find people on your side. Case managers work one-on-one with students, addressing everything from their living situation to financial stressors to emotional distress.
Mental health support. Many schools offer free short-term counseling for students. The counselor’s office is a safe, confidential space to share what you’re going through and explore your feelings. USF students can access individual counseling, group counseling, drop-in workshops, and more, both in person and virtually.

Find Out How USF Supports Homeless and Housing-Insecure Students

Are you thinking of applying to USF and want to learn more about the ways we can support you? Our admissions officers are friendly and always happy to answer your questions. Reach out to us online , or give us a call at 813-974-3350. We look forward to seeing your application!

If you’re already a student at USF and you’re going through a hard time, don’t hesitate to contact our student support staff. You can fill out a form online to ask for help, email the team directly , chat on Teams , or call at 813-974-6130.

About Emily Young

Emily Young is a freelance writer and editor based on the gulf coast of Florida. A proud USF alumna, she cares about connecting readers to resources and helping students find success.

What to Pack for a Visit to Tampa Bay

Growing up with a lazy eye was difficult. It still makes me self-conscious sometimes, even as an adult.

I have a lazy eye, and kids used to call me names.
I've learned to put a positive spin on it, and I highlight features that I like.
But as an adult, I still feel insecure sometimes.

"Are you looking at me?" It was a question I was asked often as a kid. One eye would inevitably drift off and out. That was until I learned how to cover my lazy eye , a condition known as amblyopia, with bangs. However, I had a monstrous cowlick at the front of my head that stuck up. Bangs only drew more attention to it, and every hairdresser advised against such a hairstyle.

"You will have to train the bangs," they warned, "or you will have a bump in your hair that will be quite noticeable."

Against the advice of these hairstylists, I chose bumpy bangs over a wandering wayward eye. Bangs could be tamed, but the eye couldn't. And before I made the plunge and embraced bangs , I simply stopped looking at people.

By the time I was 8 years old, I'd had three surgeries

I had three surgeries by the time I was 8 to correct my fully crossed eyes, a condition known as strabismus. I did not remember the first surgery at 2 and a half. The grandmother who raised me told me that I had a reaction to the morphine they gave me, and it took two nurses to hold me down.

"You were a flailing wild animal," she said.

Unfortunately, I have never forgotten my final eye surgery at 8. I threw up from the anesthesia as I held onto a doll I brought. The doll was wearing a bandaid in the same spot on her arm that I had one from the IV. It was an act of kindness from a nurse who felt sorry for me. The pain seared through not only my eye but the entire side of my face. I remember it still, 41 years later.

Kids called me names, and it had a lasting impact on me

The surgeries helped, though. I no longer had to wear the brown eye patch that earned me the names 'pirate' or 'one-eyed monster' with the neighborhood kids . I punched one of those kids in the nose. While it bled, I felt a power I never had. It was the first time I stuck up for myself; it wouldn't be the last.

I traded one hard-to-name eye condition, strabismus, for another, amblyopia, and my cross-eyes became a lazy eye. I went from a kid pirate to an inattentive kid who never looked anyone directly in the eyes. I couldn't.

People wondered why one eye looked at them, and the other drifted toward another location across the room. It happened more often when I was tired. I tried to put a positive spin on it.

"I can see two things happening at once. Can you do that?" I'd ask. Of course, they couldn't, and they didn't want to. In truth, neither did I. Though my lazy eye does impact my vision and allow me to see two different things, it also makes my depth perception a nightmare. The weak eye becomes weaker as the brain relies on the strong eye to do more work.

For me and those affected by this eye condition, amblyopia can cause significant insecurity. It was another way for me to feel different from all the other kids I grew up with.

As a kid raised by grandparents back when such an arrangement was very rare, I already felt different. Being an orphan was hard enough, but being an orphan with goofy eyes was unbearable. I tried to cover up the eye or make up cool stories about it. Yes, I'd been abducted by aliens in an experiment gone awry or kicked in the head by a wild horse.

I tried to focus on the positive as I grew older, but it's still difficult sometimes

As I got older, I stopped focusing so much on what other people thought. I still got upset when people noticed, but I did my best to play up other features like my high cheekbones or perfectly straight teeth . I thought if I focused more on the positive things, others would too.

Of course, when I went into education and began working with kids who noticed everything, I was returned to my childhood days.

"Mrs. Johnson, are you looking at me?" they would wonder. Or, "What's wrong with your eye?" they would ask, because kids are honest and curious. In those moments, I became the embarrassed little girl again. Even as an adult, it remains difficult to ignore the comments.

During the pandemic, when masks became a necessary and constant accessory, it brought my eye back into focus. I had no way to play up other features I used to rely on when they were hidden under a mask. When people looked at me, all they saw were my eyes. While I often think of having another surgery to correct my drifting eye, I'm unsure if it's worth it. I'm almost 50, and the expense of the surgery and time I'd need to recover may prove to be too much.

I suppose there are worse things. At least I no longer have to feel the sticky clinging of that brown eye patch. As a special education teacher, I also use my eye condition to teach the kids I work with that it's OK to be different. We are all unique, and while my eye drifts, I can see two different things at the same time. Other people can't. I think that's pretty cool.

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U.S. Sanctions Former Haitian President for Drug Trafficking

The Treasury Department said former President Michel Martelly’s actions have contributed significantly to the unraveling of security in the country.

By David C. Adams

Reporting from Miami

The United States imposed sanctions against former President Michel Martelly of Haiti for drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a U.S. Treasury Department statement released Tuesday, accusing him of contributing to the destabilization and unrest afflicting the Caribbean nation.

Mr. Martelly, who served as president of Haiti from 2011 to 2016, “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States,” the Treasury Department said. He also “sponsored multiple Haiti-based gangs,” the statement added. The sanctions prohibit U.S. financial institutions from making loans or providing credit to Mr. Martelly.

“Today’s action against Martelly emphasizes the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti,” Bradley T. Smith, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.

The government of Mr. Martelly, a 63-year-old popular musician known as “Sweet Micky,” was accused of rampant corruption , including misappropriation of aid worth about $2 billion from Venezuela — though he never faced any charges in Haiti.

He was sanctioned in 2022 by the Canadian government, which also accused him of profiting from armed gangs.

A United Nations sanctions report in September 2023 singled out Mr. Martelly for political corruption and gang ties. The report stated that during his presidency, he “used gangs to extend his influence in the neighborhoods in order to advance his political agenda, thus contributing to a legacy of insecurity whose effects are still being felt today.”

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The Effects of Food insecurity in the Community
Food Insecurity in the United States
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Food Insecurity Essay
Food insecurity is defined as "the lack of access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition."1 The Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) reported that 14.6% of US households were food insecure during at least some portion of 2008 (up 11.1% from 2007), the highest levels recorded since monitoring began in 1995.2 Food insecurity is a concern of under consumption and ...
Food Insecurity
13 essay samples found. Food Insecurity refers to the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food. Essays could delve into the causes, effects, and possible solutions to food insecurity both in the United States and globally, addressing issues like poverty, agricultural practices, and climate change.
Food Insecurity and What We Can Do to Help Essay (Speech)
People experiencing food insecurity are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure problems, anemia, and similar issues ( Compromises and Coping Strategies para. 5). Without enough energy and health, they cannot improve their life quality. Example, Narrative, or Testimony: Quality food is an essential ...
Food Insecurity: Concept, Causes, Effects and Possible Solutions
The solutions for these problems in food insecurity are awareness, decrease food waste and donations, etc. Discover the world's research. 25+ million members; 160+ million publication pages;
Food Insecurities: [Essay Example], 864 words GradesFixer
Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet one's dietary needs for an active and healthy life. It is a complex issue that affects individuals, communities, and entire nations, with far-reaching consequences that extend beyond hunger. In this essay, we will explore the causes and consequences of ...
PDF FOOD SECURITY EVIDENCE REVIEW
Food insecurity is an economic condition, meaning that it is driven primarily by lack of money and other critical resources. The following section outlines drivers that have been directly linked to food insecurity as well as household or individual characteristics that increase the risk of food insecurity.
Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger Essay
More than 35 million Americans suffered from hunger in 2019 and the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 increased the number of people who face food insecurity up to 42 million (Feeding America, 2021). To put it more explicitly, every sixth person in the US has no food to eat at least once a year (McMillan, n.d.) These figures are shocking because the ...
Food Insecurity: Consequences and Ways to Address
In this essay on food insecurity, we will explore the multifaceted nature of this problem, examining its varying definitions and interpretations. Furthermore, we will delve into the far-reaching consequences of food insecurity, from malnutrition and poor health outcomes to reduced academic and work performance. Finally, we will analyze the ...
Food Security in the United States
Food insecurity in America is eminent when children are facing a devastating shortage of adequate food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption. Food insecurity in the United States also becomes eminent when the elderly, the ethnic minority, and the rural people, lack access to food of the right quality and quantity, due to their ...
The Color of Hunger: The Complexities of Food Insecurity: [Essay
Get custom essay. In conclusion, the color of hunger encompasses a complex web of factors that perpetuate food insecurity on a global scale. Poverty, systemic inequality, and the imbalance in food distribution are central drivers of this issue, which has profound consequences for health, education, and economic well-being.
Food Insecurity and Psychological Distress: A Review of the Recent
Introduction. Food insecurity "exists when people do not have adequate physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life."[] Across the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that over 2 billion people are food insecure, which includes 8% ...
America at Hunger's Edge
742. A shadow of hunger looms over the United States. In the pandemic economy, nearly one in eight households doesn't have enough to eat. The lockdown, with its epic lines at food banks, has ...
Policies to reduce food insecurity: An ethical imperative
Based on empirical evidence and theory, we articulate an ethical framework to guide expansion. •. Just food policies should (1) embrace compassion, (2) create opportunity, (3) consider essential needs, and (4) promote knowledge and empathy. Keywords: Ethics, Food insecurity, Food and nutrition assistance, Social work, Capability approach, SNAP.
Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. 1 In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year. 2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, i but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity. 3.
Food Insecurity on College and University Campuses: A Context and
Food insecurity, even for short time periods, is associated with detrimental physiological and psychological impacts on college students. Compared with students who are food secure, students who are food insecure have been associated with having poor dietary quality, poor physical activity habits, and greater odds for obesity.1-4 Food insecurity in college students has also been associated ...
What is Food Insecurity?
What is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an official term from the USDA. It's when people don't have enough to eat and don't know where their next meal will come from. It's a big problem in the United States, where over 44 million people, including 13 million children, experience food insecurity annually. However, many more people, including ...
PDF Food Insecurity Essay
link with monash mcc donating food to vulnerable youth charity. good, important to overcome cultural barriers and stigma - eg italy. good but would you also suggest actual policies, which may be more effective? i.e. justice as well as charity? ... food insecurity essay created date:
PDF Addressing Food Insecurity Among College Students
ddressing college hunger reported by the network. More than 110 food banks have direct food distributions, compared to 39 food banks who engage in SNAP application assistance directed at college students and 33 food banks who engage in poli. and advocacy efforts related to college hunger. 19 food banks.
The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of
Food is a fundamental human right, much like air and water. Yet hunger and food insecurity are widespread in the United States. In 2020, almost 14 million households—10.5 percent of the ...
Food Insecurity Among Students
NY State Senate Bill S1151C relates to establishing a hunger-free campus act. The policy will address food insecurity among students in private and public higher education institutions. Commissioner will establish hunger free campus grant program to be awarded to campuses. The bill will send $10 million in state dollars to colleges and ...
Food insecurity
Moderate food insecurity is a condition that affected some 1.5 billion people worldwide in 2022, and severe food insecurity impacted an additional 900 million people. Causes. The causes of food insecurity are varied and complex and stem from a number of human-driven and natural factors.
Growing Cities, Growing Food Insecurity: How to Protect the Poor ...
The Reset the Table essay series is published weekly, describing today's challenges to global food security and proposing U.S. government responses.. The 2020 State of Food and Nutrition Security in the World (SOFI) estimates that close to 690 million people, or about 9 percent of the world population, did not have access to enough food or were "undernourished" in 2019.
Food Insecurity Essay Examples
Stuck on your essay? Browse essays about Food Insecurity and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services.
Fighting Food Insecurity Occurs at All Ages—But Two Populations May Get
Food insecurity doesn't discriminate by age. Millions of Americans—from college students to senior citizens—lack access to adequate, nutritious foods every year.During the COVID-19 pandemic, some food assistance programs changed their operations and requirements to help meet the moment. Such changes included federal assistance for college students and older adults.
When it Comes to Food, is the New York Times Out to Lunch?
In the opening essay of the series, journalist David Wallace-Wells offers a pessimistic view of what climate change might do to food production. ... Network Against Food Crises and the Food Security Information Network found that more than 280 million people in 59 food insecure countries faced "high levels of acute food insecurity" in 2023 ...
No Food Security Without Resilience: UNDP's Call to Action to Build
The cost of all this chaos is hitting people where it hurts from supply-chains severed, to rising prices and mounting food insecurity." Against this backdrop UNDP has prepared a White Paper on food systems resilience and transformation, researched and written by a cross-disciplinary team, to identify how to transform food systems to combat ...
College Resources for Homeless, Unhoused and Housing-Insecure Students
Tutors can give you tips on writing standout essays for scholarship applications. ... What Resources Do Colleges Provide Food-Insecure Students? There's a good chance your school will have a food pantry. In the U.S., the number of on-campus food pantries has grown from 80 to 800 in just ten years.
I Still Feel Insecure About My Lazy Eye, Even As an Adult
The author remembers wearing an eye patch when she was a young child. Courtesy of Nicole Johnson
U.S. Sanctions Former Haitian President for Drug Trafficking
The United States imposed sanctions against former President Michel Martelly of Haiti for drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a U.S. Treasury Department statement released Tuesday ...