Utah sees slight decline in food insecurity

About 10.7% of Utah households were food insecure on average between 2020–2022, according to new government data.

• That's a slim reduction compared to the 11.2% of Utah households that faced food insecurity between 2019 and 2021 — and slightly below the national average.

Threat level: Food insecurity means that at times during the year, a given household couldn't get enough food for one or more of its members, because they didn't have enough money or resources.

• Those with "very low" food security eat less food or skip meals. In a house with children, the adults might go without so that the kids can eat.

What they're saying: When times are tight, it can often be "easiest" to cut back on food, says Lisa Davis, a senior vice president at Share Our Strength, an anti-poverty nonprofit.

• "If you don't pay the rent or your mortgage, you don't have a place to live. If you don't put gas in the car, you can't get to work," Davis told Axios.
• "Food is the place that folks turn when they have to tighten the belt even more."

Zoom out: Looking at just 2022, the share of U.S. households that couldn't reliably afford food rose to 12.8% from 10.2% in 2021, per new U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

• The national economy might've looked great in 2022 by some metrics — like the low unemployment rate — but not this one.