Eighty-two percent of American households with children were food secure in 2023, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in September.
Food insecurity impacted 17.9 percent of households with children, up slightly from 17.3 percent in 2022.
“The 2023 prevalence of food insecurity in households with children was statistically significantly higher than that observed in 2015 through 2021 and statistically significantly lower than the levels in 2010 through 2014,” according to the USDA.
In 2023, in 9 percent of food insecure households with children, only adults were food insecure. Children and adults were food insecure in 8.9 percent (3.2 million) of households — a similar rate to 2022 but higher than those in 2021 and 2020.
“Children are usually protected from substantial reductions in food intake even in households with very low food security,” according to the USDA. “Nevertheless, in about 1 percent of households with children (374,000 households), one or more child also experienced reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at some time during the year.”
The USDA found that 7.2 million children resided in households where children and adults were food insecure and that 841,000 children were in households where one or more child experienced very low food security — meaning normal eating patterns were disrupted and food intake was reduced at some point due to lack of funds or other resources for food.
“When households experience very low food security in the United States, the resulting instances of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns are normally occasional or episodic and not usually constant,” the report states.
Overall, almost 87 percent of U.S. households overall were classified as food secure in 2023. The percentage of households that were food insecure rose from 12.8 percent in 2022 to 13.5 percent in 2023.
Rates of food insecurity were below the national average (13.5 percent) for married couples with children (11 percent). Households with children (17.9 percent), those with children under age 6 (17.9 percent) and those with children headed by a single woman (34.7 percent) or man (22.6 percent) were all above the national average.
By state, when considering data from 2021 to 2023, the prevalence of food insecurity was below the national average (12.2 percent) in California at 11.4 percent.
