NJ Office of the Food Security Advocate

New Measures to Assess the “Other” Three Pillars of Food Security - Availability, Utilization, and Stability

Following a formative phase, Calloway et al. (2023) conducted a pilot test with a sample of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States from April to June 2021 across five states (California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington). This test supported the development measures of availability, utilization, and stability that complement the USDA’s household food security survey measure (HFSSM), which primarily assesses access. Calloway and colleagues found that higher scores for these new measures were generally linked to increased food insecurity and that many of the measures were linked to worse health and dietary outcomes, which were statistically significant. While the findings of this study support the reliability and construct validity of the new measures with the convenience sample surveyed, further assessment is necessary. Pending further testing with more representative samples, Calloway and colleagues envision these new measures as tools that can be utilized to better understand the food insecurity experience, such as via further examination of seasonal and intramonthly food insecurity.


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