We use the term “food insecurity” on purpose. It is different from “hunger.”
What is hunger?
Hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. It is a physical feeling of discomfort or weakness that results from not consuming enough food. Hunger can become chronic if a person doesn’t regularly consume enough calories to live a healthy life.
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity is a socioeconomic and household-level condition where there is limited or uncertain access to enough safe and nutritious food to thrive. Food insecurity can be caused by a lack of food or a lack of resources to obtain food. Food insecurity—the condition assessed in the food security survey and represented in USDA food security reports—is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
Another way to understand the two terms is in the connection that food insecurity can lead to hunger, but hunger does not lead to food insecurity, it is a result of it.
The Food Experience Scale (FIES)
Food insecurity can be experienced at different levels of severity. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations measures food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) shown below:
When someone is severely insecure, they have run out of food and have gone a day or more without eating. In other words, they have most likely experienced hunger.
Severe food insecurity is one extreme of the scale, but even moderate food insecurity is worrisome. For those who are moderately food insecure, access to food is uncertain. They might have to sacrifice other basic needs, just to be able to eat.
The most affordable foods are often the least nutritious
When they do eat, it might be whatever is most readily available or cheapest, which might not be the most nutritious food. The rise in obesity and other forms of malnutrition is partly a result of this phenomenon. Highly processed foods that are energy-dense, high in saturated fats, sugars and salt are often longer lasting, as well as cheaper and easier to come by than fresh fruits and vegetables are. Eating these less healthy options foods may meet the daily requirement of calories, but they miss the essential nutrients to keep bodies healthy and functioning well.
Additionally, the stress of living with uncertain access to food and going periods without food can lead to physiological changes that can contribute to being overweight and obesity.
How our work helps
Here at the Food Bank for Larimer County, our vision is “A hunger-free Larimer County.” To end hunger, we must address the very complex issues of food insecurity, because that’s what most often leads to being hungry. That is why our services include so much more than providing food to those in need.
Our mission is “To provide food to all in need through community partnerships and hunger-relief programs.” We offer advocacy services, partner with more than 120 local organizations, rescue millions of pounds of food, and much more.
This year, a lot of the messaging we’ll be sharing will be to address the reality of food insecurity in Larimer County, where these experiences are too often invisible. We’ll also be addressing the common stigmas and hardships those who experience food insecurity face every day: shame, access, living in a state of perpetual worry and crisis, and more.
We hope you’ll read our blog, CEO Notes, and newsletters to learn more, build empathy, and become involved in our mission.
