What does this measure?
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.
Why is this important?
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.
How is Norfolk County doing?
In 2020, 7% of Norfolk County households were food insecure, two percentage points lower than in 2013. This rate was on par with the state (7%) and lower than the nation (12%). Among comparison counties, Norfolk's food insecurity rate was lower than Essex's 9% but the same as in Middlesex (7%). Both comparison counties experienced similar declines since 2013.
Notes about the data
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk County | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| Essex County | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 8% | 9% |
| Middlesex County | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 7% |
| Massachusetts | 12% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 7% |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk County | 61,770 | 59,730 | 58,990 | 53,810 | 50,190 | 43,410 | 41,100 | 49,120 |
| Essex County | 73,100 | 67,950 | 61,890 | 55,990 | 55,620 | 62,120 | 59,740 | 73,630 |
| Middlesex County | 142,990 | 138,930 | 135,980 | 123,870 | 118,700 | 105,610 | 102,660 | 116,020 |
| Massachusetts | 767,550 | 745,470 | 701,630 | 652,760 | 616,090 | 617,380 | 566,930 | 497,250 |
Notes: 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.
| INDICATORS | TREND |
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