Sept 10 -- The Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, invites comments by November 9, 2021 on its proposal for the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, annually conducted each December.
The U.S. Census Bureau will supplement the December CPS, beginning in 2022, with questions regarding household food shopping, use of food and nutrition assistance programs, food sufficiency, and difficulties in meeting household food needs. A similar supplement has been appended to the CPS annually since 1995. The last collection was in December 2020.
ERS is one of the 13 principal statistical agencies of the federal government and is responsible for conducting studies and evaluations of the Nation's food and nutrition assistance programs that are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture. In FY 2020, the Department spent about $122.1 billion to ensure access to nutritious, healthful diets for all Americans. The Food and Nutrition Service administers the 15 nutrition assistance programs of the USDA including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the Food Stamp Program, the National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These programs, which serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, represent our Nation's commitment to the principle that no one in our country should lack the food needed for an active, healthy life. These programs provide a nutrition safety net to people in need. The programs' goals are to provide needy persons with access to a more nutritious diet, to improve the eating habits of the Nation's children, and to help America's farmers by providing an outlet for the distribution of food purchased under farmer assistance authorities.
The data collected by the food security supplement will be used to monitor the prevalence of food security and the prevalence and severity of food insecurity among the Nation's households. The prevalence of these conditions as well as year-to-year trends in their prevalence will be estimated at the national level and for population subgroups. The data will also be used to monitor the amounts that households spend for food and their use of community food pantries and other community food assistance. These statistics along with research based on the data will be used to identify the causes and consequences of food insecurity, and to assess the need for, and performance of, domestic food assistance programs. The data will also be used to improve the measurement of food security and to develop measures of additional aspects and dimensions of food security. This consistent measurement of the extent and severity of food insecurity will aid in policy decision-making.
CPS Food Security Supplement webpage:
https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/cps/cps-supp_cps-repwgt/cps-food-security.html
Draft materials for 2022 supplement:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8w6ig49wfpit65n/AACOE2rOspsPlk8pUsyxH8Yba?dl=0
FR notice inviting public comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/10/2021-19572/notice-of-intent-to-request-renewal-of-a-currently-approved-information-collection
Point of contact: Alisha Coleman-Jensen alisha.coleman-jensen@usda.gov 202-694-5456
