Feeding America: Data reportsIn order to address food insecurity, we must first understand it. Every year, Feeding America conducts the Map the Meal Gap study to learn more about food insecurity at the local level. By understanding populations in need, communities can better identify strategies for reaching the people who most need food assistance.
To accurately estimate the number of people who may be food insecure in every U.S. county and congressional district, Map the Meal Gap uses publicly available state and local data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics on factors that research has shown to contribute to food insecurity. These factors include unemployment and poverty, as well as other demographic and household characteristics. Along with estimates of food insecurity for the overall population and for children that have been included in past releases, for the first time in 2022, the study also included local food insecurity estimates for several racial and ethnic groups. The study also estimates the cost of a meal, and the amount of need among people who are food insecure, using local data from Nielsen and national survey data from the Census Bureau.
