ABSTRACT

At the household level, food security means that all family members have access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Certain groups of Americans are more at risk of material hardship than others. These groups, which include the unemployed and underemployed, disabled, racial and ethnic minorities, single-parent households, women, children, and the elderly, often are the focus of the nation’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs that promote food for an active, healthy life. People living in poverty are at risk of having inadequate resources for food and other necessities. Children account for about a third of poor people. Although less than 9% of the elderly are poor, poverty rates for older women are higher than the average for older people. In addition to tax-supported efforts to help feed low-income people, the private sector also plays a large role in addressing hunger and community-level solutions in the United States; but this chapter focuses on the role of the federal government’s nutrition safety net to protect individuals and families from malnutrition, hunger, and food insecurity. After defining food security, we review the extent of poverty and food insecurity in the United States, and examine the varied and numerous federal nutrition assistance programs.