What is food security?
Household food security is the assured access of all people to enough food for an active healthy life. Households are food insecure if they have uncertain or limited access to food through normal channels.

Who is food insecure in Wisconsin? During 1996-2000....

• Almost 9% of households in Wisconsin were food insecure;
• Almost one-third of poor households were food insecure;
• One-third of single-mother households were food insecure;
• 30% of African American households were food insecure;
• 24% of households with a disabled member were food insecure.

What causes food insecurity?
Food insecurity is closely linked to poverty. However, community characteristics, economic assistance policies, and the availability and use of public and private resources also play an important role.

The Wisconsin Food Security Project provides up-to-date county and state-level information about food security, economic well-being, and the availability and use of public and private programs to increase access to affordable and nutritious foods. Using this website, users can create customized food security profiles for any county in Wisconsin. Indicators are available in the following areas:

• Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs... including data on the availability and use of the Food Stamp Program, the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Elderly Nutrition Programs, School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, and Summer Meals;
• Food Production and Marketing... including data on the availability of community food programs that target low income families;
• Community Infrastructure... including data on the availability of local coalitions to address hunger and food insecurity;
• Economic Well-being... including data on food security, employment, earnings, income, poverty, household characteristics, housing, and transportation.

The Wisconsin Food Security Project is a collaboration between University of Wisconsin - Extension and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS). County data are provided by public and private agencies including the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, DHFS, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the UW Applied Population Lab, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, UW Extension, Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Women's Network, SHARE of Wisconsin, and FARE for all. The Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP) was instrumental in helping to identify and collect these data. Members of the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium have provided valuable input into this project.

For more information about the Wisconsin Food Security Project contact:

Judi Bartfeld
University of Wisconsin
bartfeld@facstaff.wisc.edu
(608) 262- 4765

Kadi Row
University of Wisconsin-Extension
kadi.row@ces.uwex.edu
(608) 265-2934