Food Insecurity during Childhood: Understanding Persistence and Change Using Linked Current Population Survey Data

Sheela Kennedy, University of Minnesota
Catherine A. Fitch, University of Minnesota
Julia A. Rivera Drew, University of Minnesota

Because of a lack of nationally representative longitudinal data on children's food insecurity in the United States, we know very little about the dynamics of movements into or out of food insecurity among children, the duration of food insecurity among children, and the policy levers which affect movement. Our paper will examine the prevalence and determinants of children’s transitions into and out of food insecurity since 2001. We will use longitudinally linked data from the Food Security Supplements to the Current Population Surveys to estimate one-year transition probabilities of entry and exit from food insecurity. We will then analyze the demographic and socio-economic determinants of persistence and change in children’s food security status, as well as the impact of economic shocks on children’s chances of entering into and exiting food insecurity. Our preliminary results indicate that a significant minority of U.S. children experience multiple years of food insecurity.