IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/anr/reseco/v15y2023p279-303.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food Insecurity in the United States: Measurement, Economic Modeling, and Food Assistance Effectiveness

Author

Listed:
  • Travis A. Smith

    (Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA)

  • Christian A. Gregory

    (Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Kansas City, Missouri, USA)

Abstract

We first discuss the genesis and development of the Food Security Module in the United States. We then present a conceptual model of food insecurity, drawing on consumer choice theory. The model shows how food insecurity exhibits a quality–quantity trade-off and has linkages to policy levers. Next, we present new stylized facts pertaining to food consumption for those who report food insecurity versus those who do not. Adults residing in food-insecure households consume lower-quality diets across the entire distribution of diet quality and experience more volatility in caloric intake. Males younger than 20 years in food-insecure households exhibit no differences in diet quality but consume fewer calories, while the opposite is true for younger females. We review the literature pertaining to the effects of federal food assistance programs on food insecurity. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program tends to reduce household food insecurity, while having little to no effect on nutritional quality. Federal programs pertaining to children (i.e., the school food programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) tend to reduce food insecurity while also increasing the nutritional quality of children's diet.

Suggested Citation

  • Travis A. Smith & Christian A. Gregory, 2023. "Food Insecurity in the United States: Measurement, Economic Modeling, and Food Assistance Effectiveness," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 15(1), pages 279-303, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:15:y:2023:p:279-303
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-101422-090409
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-101422-090409
    Download Restriction: Full text downloads are only available to subscribers. Visit the abstract page for more information.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1146/annurev-resource-101422-090409?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    food security; nutrition security; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; School Breakfast Program; National School Lunch Program; Women; Infants; and Children program;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:15:y:2023:p:279-303. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: http://www.annualreviews.org (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.annualreviews.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.