Overall:Over 33.8 million Americans (10.4) lived in households that struggled against food insecurity, or lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet.
One in 26 (3.8 percent) of households in the U.S. experienced very low food security, a more severe form of food insecurity, where households report regularly skipping meals or reducing intake because they could not afford more food.
Children:1 in 8 (12.5 percent) households with children could not buy enough food for their families, considerably higher than the rate for households without children (9.4 percent).
Rural:Households in rural areas experienced deeper struggles with hunger compared to those in metro areas, with higher rates of food insecurity overall (10.8 percent in rural areas compared to 10.1 percent in metro areas).
Race and ethnicity:Black (19.8 percent) and Latinx (16.2 percent) households are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity, with food insecurity rates in 2021 triple and double the rate of White households (7.0 percent), respectively.
Geography:The food insecurity rate is highest in the South (11.4 percent), followed by the Midwest (9.9 percent), West (9.7 percent), and Northeast (8.8 percent).
The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably by state, ranging from 5.4 percent in New Hampshire to 15.3 percent in Mississippi (for the three-year period of 2019-2021).
