State-level data mirrors national data in demonstrating stark racial disparities when it comes to food insecurity
Published April 19, 2023 - Last update: August 28, 2023
Racist policies and practices have imposed barriers to wealth accumulation in Black communities, leading to higher rates of poverty and debt. These factors also lead to higher rates of hunger.
Data are the percent distribution of the population having low and very low food security disaggregated by race and ethnicity. Low food security is defined as reducing the quality and variety of the available food; very low food security entails skipping meals or otherwise reducing food intake because the household can’t afford enough food. For some states, group estimates were excluded due to limited sample size and unstable estimates.
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Health and Social Safety Net
The social safety net is a set of policies and programs that protect basic income, health, food, and housing for millions of low-income people in the United States. We present data showing inadequate social safety nets for communities of color, particularly Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations. Explore the pervasive racial disparities in health and social safety nets in the U.S. through interactive visualizations by clicking the following link.
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