food insecurity

noun

plural food insecurities

: the fact or an instance of being unable to consistently access or afford adequate food

The USDA defines food insecurity as a household's inability to provide enough food for each person to live an active, healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity can also occur when there is an abundance of processed, pre-packaged, calorie-dense foods, because these foods do not contain adequate nutrition.

—The Northeast Mississippi (Tupelo) Daily Journal

The federal government often allocates funds to help citizens facing food insecurity and other socio-economic hardships …

—Yssis Cano-Santiago

This past year has laid bare concerns about food insecurities in this country. The pandemic has led to shortages in the grocery store on essential items like toilet paper and meat.

—Amanda Radke

Food insecurity is linked to numerous situations, including poverty, job layoffs and living in food deserts …

—Lelia Durand

Examples of food insecurity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To help families who may be struggling with food insecurity, CBS News New York is partnering with Wegmans Food Markets for its annual season of giving Check Out Hunger campaign. — Mary Calvi, CBS News, 12 Nov. 2026

By then, 25 million tons of grain were locked in Ukrainian silos and tens of millions of people were pushed toward severe food insecurity. — Pushkar Mukewar, Forbes.com, 12 Nov. 2026

The Allens’ focus is on food insecurity and youth education, Molly said. — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 11 Nov. 2026

Currently, one in five New Yorkers is experiencing food insecurity, up from one in six a year ago and one in eight in 2019, according to City Harvest data. — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 11 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for food insecurity

• biosecurity
• cybersecurity
• immaturity
• prematurity
• impurity
• maturity
• obscurity
• security
• purity
• surety