Map the Meal Gap

Food insecurity refers to USDA's measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food-insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. Food insecurity may reflect a household's need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods. Users can select state and county from the interactive map and learn about the rates of food insecurity across the country, including the amount required to make up the "meal gap" in each area. The map shows the average meal cost and indicates the percentages of residents are below the SNAP threshold, between 130-185% of poverty, or above 185%.