food insecurity

noun

plural food insecurities
: the fact or an instance of being unable to consistently access or afford adequate food
The USDA defines food insecurity as a household's inability to provide enough food for each person to live an active, healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity can also occur when there is an abundance of processed, pre-packaged, calorie-dense foods, because these foods do not contain adequate nutrition.The Northeast Mississippi (Tupelo) Daily Journal
The federal government often allocates funds to help citizens facing food insecurity and other socio-economic hardships …Yssis Cano-Santiago
This past year has laid bare concerns about food insecurities in this country. The pandemic has led to shortages in the grocery store on essential items like toilet paper and meat.Amanda Radke

Examples of food insecurity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Having enough to eat is also a major concern, with nearly half of households in February's survey experiencing food insecurity, a rate researchers said is higher than those previously observed both locally and across the state. Li Cohen, CBS News, 16 May 2024 The partners help get food to people experiencing food insecurity throughout San Diego County. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2024 Nearly half of these Californians deal with food insecurity, according to an April 2022 report by Nourish California. Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 10 May 2024 For Jennifer, everyone’s hardship is different and doesn’t determine one’s right to claim food insecurity. Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024 The harvest will help community organizations fight food insecurity, Wright said. Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 10 May 2024 But as the scope of the event has increased, so has the level of food insecurity in both the country and the Valley, especially in recent years. Dylan Wickman, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024 In 2021, Santa Clara County responded by approving the Food Systems Work Plan Report: a strategy to build a stronger food economy in the region, tackle food insecurity and increase agricultural opportunities for local farmers, among other goals. Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 4 May 2024 Born in a crucial time of need at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this organization began as a scrappy operation — a handful of volunteers, food and toys purchased by the organizers themselves, and a dream to help a community dealing with food insecurity. Simrin Singh, CBS News, 4 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'food insecurity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of food insecurity was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near food insecurity

Cite this Entry

“Food insecurity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/food%20insecurity. Accessed 22 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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