Section 15.2.1

15.2.1 - Income in 2000 and Food Security

The data presented in Chapter 6 showed that the emergency food clients in the A2H network experience relatively high levels of food insecurity and hunger. In order to gain additional insight into this and into exactly what groups are most vulnerable, it is useful to cross-tabulate levels of food security by various client characteristics. These data are presented in this subsection. Food Security and Income. Table 15.2.1 examines the relationship between income and food security.

Table 15.2.1

INCOME IN 2000 AND FOOD SECURITY

Income in 2000
	All Client Households	0% to 130% of Federal Poverty Level	131% or Higher of Federal Poverty Level
Food secure	28.4%	24.7%	47.3%
Food insecure without hunger	34.4%	35.4%	29.4%
Food insecure with hunger	37.2%	39.9%	23.3%
TOTAL	100%	100%	100%
SAMPLE SIZE (N)	28,526	23,639	4,887

Notes
Item nonresponses to all variables involved were excluded in calculating percentages and sample sizes.

Statistically significant based on chi-square test (d.f. = 2) at the 1% level.

As shown in the table, within the overall group of A2H clients, lower-income households are much more vulnerable to food insecurity than are higher-income households.

Among the households with incomes equal to or less than 130% of the federal poverty level in year 2000, only 24.7% are food secure, while 47.3% of the households with incomes more than 130% of the federal poverty level are food secure.
On the other hand, as many as 39.9% of the client households with income equal to or less than 130% of the federal poverty level are food insecure with hunger. The comparable figure is 23.3% for the households with income more than 130% of the federal poverty level.