Food security is not on-or-off — it is a continuum. The United States Department of Agriculture measures it with a household survey and sorts the answers into four levels, from high to very low food security. Slide the number of survey items a household reports and watch it move along the spectrum — and watch exactly what changes at each step.
Where the household sits
High food securityFood secure score 0 of 10
How it is measured. This is the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module — 10 questions for households without children, 18 when children are present. Each score is a count of affirmative answers about the household over the past 12 months. It measures access to food given a household’s resources; it is not a judgement of anyone’s choices, cooking, or body. USDA standard measure
The four levelsslide the score, or step through them