What Is Food Security?
Food security for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum:
- The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
- Assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).
Here are some facts you might want to know:
These are the stats for the U.S. alone. This is why we should be concerned.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. “We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
2. “The food that we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
3. “We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
4. In the last 12 months, did you or other adults in the household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
5. (If yes to question 4) How often did this happen–almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
6. In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
7. In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry, but didn’t eat, because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
8. In the last 12 months, did you lose weight because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
9. In the last 12 months did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
10. (If yes to question 9) How often did this happen–almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
Why? These are survey questions used by USDA to assess Household Food Security. If you answered those questions with confidence, congratulations! You’re one of the lucky ones.
No matter what your results are, we should all be concerned about the current food security issue in the U.S. Food First is having a discussion about food security and a documentary showing of Edible City this coming Wednesday (Aug 19) at 6:30pm.
The event is FREE! So make sure to check out the details here:
Free and Open to the public. Donations welcome.
Food and drink available for purchase from Los Cilantros.
In the midst of summer bounty in the produce-rich Bay Area, Food First hosts a discussion on the role of farmers’ markets in achieving food security. Starting off the evening with a brief introduction to Food First, we will watch a clip of Edible City, a compelling documentary about the food movement here in the Bay Area. The film will be followed with a presentation by two current Food First interns, Julie Burton and Erin Raser, on their research findings regarding farmers’ markets and food security in Costa Rica. We’ll leave plenty of time for discussion about how the twin goals of food security and farm security can be bridged by community efforts.
About Food First
The mission of the Institute for Food and Development Policy, better known as Food First, is to end the injustices that cause hunger.
Food First envisions a world in which all people have access to healthy, ecologically produced, and culturally appropriate food. After 40 years of analysis of the global food system, we know that making this vision a reality involves more than technical solutions—it requires political transformation. That’s why Food First supports activists, social movements, alliances, and coalitions working for systemic change. Our work—including action-oriented research, publications, projects and Food Sovereignty Tours—gives you the tools to understand the global challenges, build your local movement, and engage with the global movement for food sovereignty.
Sources:
Food Insecurity in the U.S. via United States Department of Agirculture
Hunger in America: 2015 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts
Map the Meal via Feeding America
Food Security and Nutrition via Counterpart International