This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from US statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from US statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other US-specific metadata information.
| Actual indicator available | Household food insecurity as measured by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement. |
|---|---|
| Actual indicator available - description | Food-insecure households had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. USDA's food insecurity statistics are similar in concept to those obtained with FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale. However, the threshold for food insecurity differs between the two data sources. FAO's measure of moderate or severe food insecurity is somewhat more severe than USDA's measure of food insecurity. Therefore, the prevalence of US food insecurity as measured by USDA is higher than the prevalence of US food insecurity as measured by FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale. FAO measures moderate or severe food insecurity among adults while USDA measures food insecurity among US households. |
| Date of national source publication | Not set. Last release in April 2016, updated in August 2016. |
| Method of computation | See https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-02-01-02.pdf. |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Scheduled update by national source | September 2018 |
| U.S. method of computation | USDA food security statistics are obtained from data collected in the Food Security Supplement to the Current Population Survey. The household food security statistics are based on a measure of food security calculated from responses to a series of questions about conditions and behaviors that characterize households when they are having difficulty meeting basic food needs. The US Household Food Security Survey Module includes three questions about food conditions of the household as a whole and seven about food conditions of adults in the household, and, if there are children in the household, an additional eight questions about their food conditions. The food security status of each interviewed household is determined by the number of food-insecure conditions and behaviors the household reports. Households are classified as food secure if they report no food-insecure conditions or only one or two food-insecure conditions. They are classified as food insecure if they report three or more food-insecure conditions. Households classified as food insecure were "at times unable to acquire adequate food for one or more household members because they had insufficient money and other resources for food". For more information on U.S. food security statistics and measurement methods see the resources available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/readings/ |
| Comments and limitations | The FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale-Survey Module and US Household Food Security Survey Module questions are similar and both rely on the underlying Rasch measurement model to determine food insecurity. Where FAO's and USDA's measures of food insecurity differ is in the threshold for food insecurity. The internationally comparable threshold for \ FAO's measure of moderate or severe food insecurity is set at a more severe level of food insecurity than is USDA's threshold for U.S. food insecurity. Thus, the prevelance of food insecurity as measured by USDA methods is not perfectly comparable to FAO's prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. |
| Date metadata updated | November 2017 |
| Disaggregation geography | Prevalence estimates by US regions and for each of the States is presented in USDA's annual food security report ), Household Food Security in the United States in 2016 (https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84972). |
| Unit of measurement | Percent of households with food insecurity in the US |
| Disaggregation categories | Prevalence estimates by selected household characteristics (household composition, race/ethnicity, income, metropolitan residence) and information on food insecurity among children are available in USDA's annual food security report , Household Food Security in the United States in 2016 (https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84972). |
| International and national references | http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-the-hungry/en/ http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx |
| Time period | Last 12 months |
| Scheduled update by SDG team |