PARTNERS Definition of the End of Hunger
Hunger has ended when every citizen in a community has access to adequate amounts of safe, nutritious culturally acceptable food and 96% of the households are food secure with less than 4% being food insecure with no hunger and this is maintained over time.
Background information further clarifying our definition:
We use the United States Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Measure to gauge the extent and severity of hunger and food insecurity in a community. This measure is administered each year at the state level, can be implemented at the community level and is supported by many different constituencies as being a reliable indicator of the extent and severity of hunger in our communities.
PARTNERS uses this same measure to define the end of hunger.
Currently (2004) the USDA’s Household Food Security measure indicates that 89% of the households in the United States are food secure, 7% are food insecure with no hunger and 4% are food insecure with hunger.
We define the end of hunger as 96% of the households food secure, 4%
food insecure with no hunger and 0% food insecure with hunger.
We use the following terms and their definitions from the USDA:
Food Security Access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum: (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (e.g. without resorting to emergency food suppliers, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).
Food Insecurity Limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.
Hunger The uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food.. The recurrent and involuntary lack of access to food.
There are three distinct categories of food security/insecurity that are defined by this measure. They are households that are:
Food Secure Household shows no or minimal evidence of food insecurity.
Food Insecure without Hunger Food insecurity is evident in household members’ concerns about adequacy of the household food supply and in adjustments to household food management, including reduced quality of food and increased unusual coping patterns.
Food Insecure with Hunger - Food intake for adults in the household has been reduced to an extent that implies that adults have repeatedly experienced the physical sensation of hunger. At more extreme levels of severity, food intake for children has been reduced to an extent indicating that children have experienced hunger. In most food-insecure households with hunger, adults shield the children from hunger until adult hunger is quite severe.
These definitions are all listed in USDA Guide to Measuring Household Food Security - Revised 2000.
Partners Pathway
PARTNERS Pathway for Ending Hunger
We believe the answers to ending hunger are found within the dynamics of each community. Recognizing that each community is unique, the Pathway for Ending Hunger is designed to support communities in uncovering these answers and creating effective action plans specific to their community. The intended result is strong, healthy, hunger-free communities. To find out how to implement the Pathway in your community contact Charlie today!
