Food security dynamics in the United States, 2001–2017

Abstract

AbstractWe study household food security dynamics in the United States from 2001 to 2017 using a new measure, the probability of food security (PFS), the estimated probability that a household's food expenditures equal or exceed the minimum cost of a healthful diet. We use PFS to analyze household‐level and subpopulation‐scale dynamics by investigating the conditional distribution of estimated food insecurity spells and the chronic and transient components of estimated food insecurity. We find that two‐thirds of households experienced no estimated food insecurity during the 2001 to 2017 period and more than half of newly food insecure households regain food security within 2 years. Households headed by female, non‐White, or less educated individuals disproportionately suffer persistent, chronic, and/or severe food insecurity.