Food Security
What is Food Security?
Household food security is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum:
- The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
- An assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.
Community food security expands on the definition of household security by being concerned with the underlying social, economic and institutional factors that affect not only the amount of food available but also the quality.
Why is Food Security Important?
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Food security is one of several conditions necessary for a population to be healthy and well-nourished. The Bureau of Nutrition and the Iowa Department of Public Health have focused on assessing the extent of food security at household and community levels.
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How do We Measure Food Security?
Roughly every 3 years the Iowa WIC program distributes a Food Security Survey to at least 5% of it's participants. The questions contained within the survey are used to measure the level of food security of our participants. Results of the Food Security Surveys can be found below.
Food Security Survey Results
Other resources