Do you have enough to eat?

The U.S. Census Bureau asks the following questions as part of its Current Population Survey annually. The U.S. Department of Agriculture uses the results to compile its annual report on food security.

1. "We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

2. "The food that we bought just didn't last and we didn't have money to get more." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

3. "We couldn't afford to eat balanced meals." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

4. In the last 12 months, did you or other adults in the household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn't enough money for food? (Yes/No)

5. (If yes to question 4) How often did this happen - almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?

6. In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn't enough money for food? (Yes/No)

7. In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry, but didn't eat, because there wasn't enough money for food? (Yes/No)

8. In the last 12 months, did you lose weight because there wasn't enough money for food? (Yes/No)

9. In the last 12 months did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn't enough money for food? (Yes/No)

10. (If yes to question 9) How often did this happen - almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?

(Questions 11-18 were asked only if a household included children through age 18.)

11. "We relied on only a few kinds of low-cost food to feed our children because we were running out of money to buy food." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

12. "We couldn't feed our children a balanced meal, because we couldn't afford that." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

13. "The children were not eating enough because we just couldn't afford enough food." Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

14. In the last 12 months, did you ever cut the size of any of the children's meals because there wasn't enough money for food?

15. In the last 12 months, were the children ever hungry but you just couldn't afford more food?

16. In the last 12 months, did any of the children ever skip a meal because there wasn't enough money for food?

17. (If yes to question 16) How often did this happen-almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only one or two months?

18. In the last 12 months did any of the children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn't enough money for food?

A report of three or more food-insecure conditions results in a rating of "food security." Households without minor children who report six or more have "very low food security." For households with children, eight or more conditions result in "very low food security," and they can be deemed "very low food security among children" if they report five or more food insecurities among the children.

SOURCE: The USDA's "Household Food Security in the United States, 2008"