Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain availability of adequate food.1 Households experiencing food insecurity have difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of money or other resources. In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year.2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity.

This page provides data points and curated searches from OMH’s Knowledge Center library catalog related to food insecurity in minority and tribal populations in the United States and its territories. The number of catalog records for each topic reflect the search results at the time of this page’s latest update.

American Indian/Alaska Native

According to USDA data from 2016-2021, American Indian/Alaska Native households had the highest rate of food insecurity across all racial and ethnic groups, at 23.3%.3 This is more than twice the rate of food insecurity of all households surveyed (11.1%).

Asian American

According to USDA data from 2016-2021, Asian American households had the lowest rate of food insecurity across all racial and ethnic groups, at 5.4%.4 This is approximately half the rate of food insecurity across all households surveyed. CDC data from 2021 show that 3.7% of non-Hispanic Asian adults responded as having experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days.5

Black/African American

According to USDA data from 2016-2021, Black households were 1.9 times as likely to be food insecure as all households surveyed.6 CDC data from 2021 show that 12.2% of non-Hispanic Black adults responded as having experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days.7

Hispanic/Latino

According to USDA data from 2016-2021, Hispanic households were 1.5 times as likely to be food insecure as all households surveyed.8 CDC data from 2021 show that 8% of Hispanic adults responded as having experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days.9

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

According to USDA data from 2016-2021, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander households were 1.4 times as likely to be food insecure as all households surveyed.10

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1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2024). Definitions of food security. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security (Back to footnote)

2 Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M. P., Gregory, C. A., & Singh, A. (2021). Household food security in the United States in 2020. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/102076/ERR-298.pdf (Back to footnote)

3 Hales, L. J. and Alisha Coleman-Jensen (2024). Household food insecurity across race and ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21 (Report No. EIB-269). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/108905/EIB-269.pdf (Back to footnote)

4 Hales, L. J. and Alisha Coleman-Jensen (2024). Household food insecurity across race and ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21 (Report No. EIB-269). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/108905/EIB-269.pdf (Back to footnote)

5 Weeks, J. D., Mykyta, L., Madans, J. H. (2023). Adults living in families experiencing food insecurity in the past 30 days: United States, 2021. NCHS Data Brief, no. 465, 1–8. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db465.pdf (Back to footnote)

6 Hales, L. J. and Alisha Coleman-Jensen (2024). Household food insecurity across race and ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21 (Report No. EIB-269). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/108905/EIB-269.pdf (Back to footnote)

7 Weeks, J. D., Mykyta, L., Madans, J. H. (2023). Adults living in families experiencing food insecurity in the past 30 days: United States, 2021. NCHS Data Brief, no. 465, 1–8. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db465.pdf (Back to footnote)

8 Hales, L. J. and Alisha Coleman-Jensen (2024). Household food insecurity across race and ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21 (Report No. EIB-269). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/108905/EIB-269.pdf (Back to footnote)

9 Weeks, J. D., Mykyta, L., Madans, J. H. (2023). Adults living in families experiencing food insecurity in the past 30 days: United States, 2021. NCHS Data Brief, no. 465, 1–8. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db465.pdf (Back to footnote)

10 Hales, L. J. and Alisha Coleman-Jensen (2024). Household food insecurity across race and ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21 (Report No. EIB-269). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/108905/EIB-269.pdf (Back to footnote)