The percentage of households that lack access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and/or experience limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.
Food insecurity is one way to measure and assess the risk of hunger. Being food insecure is stressful, and food insecurity makes it difficult for children to learn and grow. Financially stressed families often need to choose between spending money on healthy food or other basic needs such as housing or health expenses.
In 2021, 8% of Mid-Hudson Valley households were food insecure, three percentage points lower than in 2013. This rate was lower than the state and nation, both at 10%. Among its counties, Sullivan and Ulster's food insecurity rate (10%) were the highest in the region, followed by Columbia, Greene and Orange (8%).
Feeding America estimates the level of food insecurity in counties by analyzing the relationship between reported food insecurity and related indicators such as poverty, unemployment, homeownership at the state level, then applies that knowledge to generate estimates based on county data on poverty, unemployment and similar indicators.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 11% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
| Columbia | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 8% |
| Dutchess | 10% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 7% |
| Greene | 13% | 12% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 8% |
| Orange | 10% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
| Putnam | 6% | 6% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
| Sullivan | 14% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 12% | 10% |
| Ulster | 12% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 10% |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 12% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 6% | 10% |
| U.S. | 16% | 15% | 13% | 13% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 12% | 10% |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 120,690 | 110,600 | 105,620 | 99,940 | 98,800 | 104,220 | 105,610 | 107,410 | 91,910 |
| Columbia | 6,860 | 6,370 | 6,430 | 6,130 | 5,780 | 6,220 | 6,220 | 5,740 | 5,110 |
| Dutchess | 30,890 | 28,830 | 27,790 | 26,130 | 25,470 | 25,510 | 25,090 | 25,540 | 21,410 |
| Greene | 6,270 | 5,730 | 5,390 | 5,020 | 4,920 | 5,170 | 5,500 | 5,000 | 4,010 |
| Orange | 38,230 | 34,860 | 32,820 | 31,780 | 31,990 | 34,170 | 34,520 | 35,990 | 31,090 |
| Putnam | 6,330 | 5,440 | 5,180 | 4,700 | 4,580 | 5,700 | 5,900 | 6,240 | 5,230 |
| Sullivan | 10,540 | 9,740 | 9,020 | 8,360 | 8,120 | 8,580 | 8,760 | 8,690 | 7,730 |
| Ulster | 21,570 | 19,630 | 18,990 | 17,820 | 17,940 | 18,870 | 19,620 | 20,210 | 17,330 |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 1,379,180 | 1,301,930 | 1,248,530 | 1,137,500 | 1,081,560 | 1,073,730 | 1,035,970 | 659,420 | 1,089,540 |
| U.S. | 49,078,000 | 48,135,000 | 42,238,000 | 41,204,000 | 40,044,000 | 37,227,000 | 35,207,000 | 38,287,000 | 33,844,000 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | STATE |
|---|---|
| Median Household Income | Maintaining |
| Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity | Maintaining |
| People Living in Poverty | Maintaining |
| People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity | Increasing |
| Seniors Living in Poverty | Increasing |
| Veterans Living in Poverty | Maintaining |
| Children Receiving Subsidized Child Care | Decreasing |
| Economically Disadvantaged Students | Increasing |
| Earned Income Tax Credit Participation | Increasing |
| Living Wage Rate by Household Type | Maintaining |
| Income in Relation to Poverty Level | Increasing |
| Households Receiving SNAP | Maintaining |
| Food Insecurity | Decreasing |
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