USDA’s Economic Research Service reported this month (Sept. 12, 2022) that food insecurity in U.S. households with children reached a two-decade low in 2021.
The Economic Research Service monitors the prevalence of food insecurity in U.S. households with children by measuring food insecurity for the household overall, as well as for adults and children separately. The first measure, food insecurity in households with children, indicates that at least one person in the household—whether an adult, a child, or both—was food insecure. The second measure, food insecurity among children, indicates that households were unable at times to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children.
Both annual measures improved in 2021. In 2021, 12.5 percent of households with children were food insecure, a significant decrease from 14.8 percent in 2020 and the lowest point in two decades. The prevalence of food insecurity among children in 2021 was 6.2 percent, down from 7.6 percent in 2020. The decline means that in 2021 nearly 2.5 million fewer children lived in households that experienced food insecurity.
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