The Bureau of Census and the Economic Research Service of USDA determined the prevalence of food insecurity across ethnic and economic groups in the U.S. A recent report evaluated data from 214,000 households gathered from 2016 through 2021. The prevalence of food insecurity ranges from 5.4 percent for Asian households to 23.3 percent for American Indian and Alaskan native households. This category experienced difficulty in obtaining sufficient food due to lack of disposable income.
Very low food security was experienced by 1.6 percent of Asian households but up to 11.3 percent for native American-White multiracial households. In this category, food intake was rationed and the number of meals was reduced due to lack of availability. The report also noted diversity within ethnic groups. Food insecurity among Japanese households categorized within the Asian demographic was at 1.7 percent compared to 11.4 percent for other Asian households.
Among all U.S. households 12 percent were insecure and 4 percent experienced low levels of food security. The highest affected groups comprised Black Americans with 22 percent of households insecure and 8 percent experiencing low food security. White households in contrast showed 7 percent insecurity and 3 percent extremely low food security. Hispanic households were intermediate with 16 percent insecure and 6 percent reporting low food security.
The extent of food insecurity is an unfortunate reality in a nation with the largest GDP in the world. The magnitude of the problem should be considered in relation to the current conflicts within the House and Senate Agriculture Committees that have failed to produce an acceptable Farm Bill. This is mainly due to division along party lines as to the relative expenditures on SNAP and WIC relative to agricultural support prices.