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Food Insecurity in Wisconsin, 1996–2000

Report prepared for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, under a grant to the Institute for Research on Poverty. Any opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the sponsoring institutions. Mark Nord and Kadi Row provided valuable comments on this report. Executive Summary Food security refers to the assured access at all times to enough food for a healthy, active life. Households are considered to be food insecure if they have uncertain or limited access to food through normal channels. Food security, rather than simply the absence of hunger, is increasingly recognized as an essential component of well-being. In recent years, researchers have linked food insecurity to a wide range of negative health and behavioral outcomes. This report documents the extent of food insecurity in Wisconsin over the years 1996–2000. It includes comparisons of the rate of food insecurity among households that differ in income, household composition, age, race, health and disability status, employment status, and location. It also compares Wisconsin and the country as a whole. The report uses two data sources: the 1996–2000 Food Security Supplements to the Current Population Survey and the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. We find that food insecurity is less common in Wisconsin than in the nation as a whole. During the period 1996–2000, 8.4 percent of Wisconsin households were food insecure, as compared to 10.7 percent nationwide. During 1999, 21.1 percent of children in Wisconsin lived in families that worried about or experienced difficulty affording food, compared to 29.1 percent of children nationwide. Finally, 10.4 percent of Wisconsin children lived in families in which members cut back or skipped meals due to lack of money for food; this figure is also somewhat lower than among children nationwide (12.4 percent). Food insecurity is closely linked to poverty. The close connection between poverty and food insecurity helps explain why Wisconsin fares better on food security outcomes than the country as a whole: the poverty rate in Wisconsin is considerably lower than the national rate. The difference in income distribution accounts for roughly 60 percent of the difference in food security outcomes. Some households are at greater risk than others. Households with children—particularly young children—were much more likely to be food insecure than were childless households. Among households with children, single-mother households fare dramatically worse than do married-couple households. For instance, the food insecurity …