Background Information

“Food insecurity in the United States has been an ongoing problem and is defined as the uncertainty “of having the ability to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all household members because of scarce resources for food” (De Marco et al., 2009).

Quick Links: Literature Review Food Assistance Programs Statistics

Facing the Statistics

Indications of Food Insecurity

Major indicators of very low food security included...

Feeling hungry but not eating
Losing weight from lack of eating
Not eating for a whole day
Consistently not eating for a whole day over a period of 3+ months (USDA, 2018)

Statistics

Food Assistance Programs at the Federal Level

Non-exhaustive list of food assistance programs

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP is the most widely used federal assistance program, accounting for 68% of all federal food and nutrition assistance in fiscal year 2018 (Fleischhacker et al., 2019)
SNAP provides monthly benefits through electronic transfer accounts to allow participants to purchase food and beverages (Fleischhacker et al., 2019)

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

WIC provides benefits to infants from age 0 to 5 and women who are pregnant and/or lactating (Fleischhacker et al., 2019)

National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

NSLP offers federal reimbursements to private and public school meal program (Fleischhacker et al., 2019)s

"Although these programs provide support to millions of U.S citizens, most of these measures are economically-driven and do not focus on childcare, transportation options, and physiological hunger."

Food Assistance Programs

Literature Review

ETHNOGRAPHIC LITERATURE REVIEW

In a Country as Affluent as America, People Should be Eating: Experiences With and Perceptions of Food Insecurity Among Rural and Urban Oregonians

This ethnographic study on the experiences and perceptions of food insecurity among rural and urban Oregonians explores a multitude of factors that could contribute to higher rates of food insecurity such as income levels, educational opportunities, and unemployment. One participant in this study remarked that “It’s not that people are unwilling to work, it’s that they can’t find work that provides the basic necessities.” This focus on employment opportunities can be seen across multiple studies, including our own ethnographic research at Covenant Soup Kitchen (De Marco et al., 2009).