Poor Families Were Far More Likely to Often Run Out of Food Than Non-Poor Ones

In 2018, poor American families were far more likely to run out of food and have no money to replace it than families above the poverty line — a gap that shows up sharply whether the shortage happened often or just sometimes.

Percentage of families that often or sometimes ran out of food and lacked money to buy more, by poverty status, 2018. Credit: CDC/MMWR

How the Data Were Collected

The figures come from the National Health Interview Survey's Family component, which conducts household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Families were asked whether it was often true, sometimes true, or never true in the last 30 days that the food they bought didn't last and they didn't have money to get more. The results below reflect those who said "often true" or "sometimes true."

Poverty status was based on family income and family size, using the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty thresholds. Families are grouped as:

• Poor — income below the poverty threshold
• Near poor — income from 100% to less than 200% of the poverty threshold
• Not poor — income at 200% of the poverty threshold or greater

The Gap Between Poor and Not-Poor Families

Across all U.S. families in 2018, 2.7% often did not have enough food and lacked the money to buy more. But that overall figure masks a wide divide by poverty status:

Poor families were more likely than near-poor families to often lack food, and near-poor families in turn were more likely than not-poor families. The same pattern held for those who sometimes ran out.

The Broader Picture

Looking beyond the "often" category, 8.2% of all U.S. families sometimes did not have enough food or the money to buy more. Among poor families, that figure rose to more than one in five — 22.6%. Even near-poor families, those earning between 100% and just under 200% of the poverty threshold, reported the problem at a much higher rate than not-poor families (16.2% versus 3.4%).

Sources

This article is based on "QuickStats: Percentage of Families That Often or Sometimes Did Not Have Enough Food To Last 30 Days and Did Not Have Enough Money to Buy More, by Poverty Status — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2018," published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; it is a work of the United States government in the public domain.