FOOD INSECURITY AND THE US ECONOMIC DOWNFALL OF 2008-2009 1

Food Insecurity and the US Economic Downfall 2008-2009

Moriah Johnson
EOP HSEP Program at UIC

FOOD INSECURITY AND THE US ECONOMIC DOWNFALL OF 2008-2009 2

Abstract
A candy bar versus a cake, versus a tri-tip [steak]. You just decide what you can afford
(Carney, 2011, pg.6). During the economic downfall of 2008 about 155 million people slipped into
poverty and found it difficult to maintain nutritionally adequate diets due to their low incomes (Makin,
2013, p. 2). Shown in the statistic above many people found it hard to eat nourishing foods and still pay
their other expenses. These low incomes were a direct result of economic crises during this period such
as banks and companies filing for bankruptcy. Since banks and companies were experiencing tough
financial stability they made a lot of budget cuts and stopped hiring; the economy went into turmoil.
Because of this, many people lost a lot of money making their food budgets tight. In basic terms the
world understands food insecurity as not having access to the proper foods to meet a persons
nutritional needs. Without sufficient funds, families are not able to afford fruits, vegetables, and
protein-rich foods.

Keywords: Economy, Nutritional, Poverty, Food Insecurity, Finance, Budget, Sufficient Funds, Global
Financial Crisis, Recession, Inflation, Affordable, Financial Stability, Labor Force Participation, Stock
Market, Housing Market, Household Wealth, Food Deserts, US Food System

FOOD INSECURITY AND THE US ECONOMIC DOWNFALL OF 2008-2009 3

Food Insecurity and the US Economic Downfall 2008-2009

Introduction
In basic terms the world understands food insecurity as not having access to the proper foods to
meet a persons nutritional needs. According to Megan Carney, food insecurity is defined to be access
to enough food to fully meet basic needs and assured access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods
without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, and other coping
strategies(Carney, 2011, pg.5). Food insecurity has been a problem in the US for a long time. The
start of the formal effort in gathering data was in 1995. Since the mid 1990s food insecurity reached
its highest rate-14.7% in 2009 (Ryu & Bartfeld, 2012, pg.1). During the years of 2009-2011 food
security hit rock bottom in the US due to the economic downfall of 2008-2009. The global financial
crisis began in December of 2007 and nosedived in September 2008 (Demirdjian, 2013, pg.1). This
includes job shortages, foreclosures, and other disasters most people did not prepare for. Even though
some citizens were more affected than others, all individuals across the US felt some effect from the
global economic crisis and this correlates directly to food insecurity.
Causes of Global Economic Crisis
October 2008 through May 2009 are described as the worst moment of the economic
recession (Carney, 2011, pg.4). The global financial crisis did not happen overnight, it was caused by a
series of global financial crisis that occurred between 2007-2012 (Demirdjian, 2013, pg.1). Bankers
during this time were focused more on acquiring money for themselves instead of the financial stability of
people around the world. Bankers first were advising people to take out mortgages that they could not
afford. They then bundled a bunch of mortgages up and sold them. Companies were buying these
mortgages hundreds at a time and not really keeping track of who was actually paying them. After a

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while they realized that the people were defaulting on their mortgages, making the bundle worth nothing.
This caused the companies to lose a lot of money and they had to cut back on their spending. Since a
lot of companies were doing this at the same time, the economy went downhill because of a lot of
bankruptcy. Banks were also facing bankruptcy and other financial crises. A lot of people invested in
treasury notes and treasury bills because they were the safest investment. Since the government was
losing money investors were not making any money on their bank deposits and treasury bills (Makin,
2013, p. 3). Soon the stock market began to crash and companies started buying their own stock to try
and save their companies (Makin, 2013, p. 3). Inflation also increased causing prices of everyday
essentials to go up (Makin, 2013, p. 3). At the time, the economy was in rough shape.
Effects of Global Economic Crisis
During the global economic recession everyone felt the effect in some way. During this time a lot
of people were losing their jobs because the companies they were working for were making cuts to
save money. Other companies were not hiring making the labor market weak and the labor force
participation decline (Kudlyak, 2013, p. 4). Appendix A displays the Labor Force Participation (LFP)
between 2006 and 2013. During the period of the recession, the percentage of people working
continuously declined year after year. Prior to the recession, the age group with the highest LFP were
25-54 year olds. During the recession the percentage of people working in this age group declined even
more (Kudlyak, 2013, p. 2). Due to lack of funds (from the stock and housing market crashing),
household wealth declined rapidly (Kudlyak, 2013, p.1 & 2). The decrease of household wealth lead to
an increase of food insecurity. Rising unemployment, inflation of food prices, plummeting wages, and
burgeoning costs of fuel and housing were some of the reasons that families slipped under the food
security line (Carney, 2011, pg.3&6). This created additional more food deserts. People living in food

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deserts did not have adequate transportation to more healthy stores and there was an absence of stores
in their area selling food to meet their nutrition needs (Carney, 2011, pg.6). The LFP in the US was low
between 2007-2012 because of budget cuts and companies not hiring (Kudlyak, 2013, p. 3). A greater
poverty increase was seen in women and children than men (Bianchi, 2008, pg.1) (Carney, 2011,
pg.1). Those that live in poverty suffer from having an insufficient amount of many life essential resources
such as food. The national rate of food insecurity was 14.7% in the year 2009; but women that headed
households had a rate of about 40% which is almost 3 times the national average (Carney, 2011,
pg.6)(Chilton & Rose, 2009, p. 1). Single women headed households had a high prevalence of poverty
and food insecurity because they were the only ones working in the house. When they lost their jobs,
they also lost their main source of income. These households became food insecure because of
unemployment, rising prices of foods, lack of transportation, increased in consumption fast food, and
ignorance on the topic of nutrition (Carney, 2011, pg.6). Households that suffered from low-income
also found it difficult to maintain nutritionally adequate diets (Carney, 2011, pg.6).
Effects of Food Insecurity
The economic recession forced people to choose between not to eating, eating fast food, or to
only eating certain things that they could afford. Protein-rich foods were affected the most by inflation
forcing most families to stay away from them because of their immense prices (Carney, 2011, pg.6&7).
Since families were eating like this (less fruits, vegetables, protein rich foods), low income families had a
lot of health problems, most dietary. Obesity and malnourishment are the most common effects of food
insecurity.
The economic downfall and food insecurity also have affected families emotionally and has
strained their interactions. Those hard times add stress on families because of the uncertainty of the

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future. Tensions are created in the household due to their anxiety levels. The individuals dont know
when they will get their next check or where their next meal will come from. Food insecurity is not just a
physical detriment; there is also an emotional aspect of it (Carney, 2011, pg.6). This also affects the
children in the household, even the mildest form of food insecurity is associated with risk of poor
cognitive, social, and emotional development of children younger than 3 years (Chilton & Rose, 2009,
p. 1).
The global economic recession correlates directly to the dramatic drop in food security.
(Appendix A1) These quotes are from real life people who are struggling with their food and money
every day. Even though the period of recession has ended, food insecurity is still a prevalent problem in
the US. Food insecurity still affects about 11.1% of US citizens making it still a big issue (Chilton &
Rose, 2009, p. 1). Because of the way the food system is set up in the US it is hard for there to be a
dramatic change. The complicated set up of the US Food System makes it difficult to completely
change the status of food insecurity; many towns are vulnerable to higher prices and lower quality of
food (Carney, 2011, pg.6). Theyre almost forced into food insecurity.


Conclusion
The Global Recession of 2008-2009 greatly affected food insecurity in the recession period and
in the years thereafter. The recession caused a lot of businesses and banks to go bankrupt resulting in
low labor force participation. When people lost their jobs, they lost their sources of income. More
people went under the poverty line and became food insecure. This demonstrates that there is a direct
correlation between household income and the ability for those households to remain food secure. Even

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though the status of food insecurity seems not to be drastically changing, there are still efforts being
made in order to increase the number of food secure homes in the US. To help solve these problems the
US spends over $50 billion dollars each year on programs to help struggling people with their nutrition
(Chilton & Rose, 2009, p. 1). The governments job is not close to being finished but there has been a
lot of progress. The country is still feeling the aftermath of the recession and until that goes away, food
insecurity is still going to be a problem.

References

Chilton, Mariana, PhD., M.P.H., & Rose, Donald, PhD., M.P.H. (2009). A rights-based approach
to food insecurity in the united states. American Journal of Public Health, 99(7), 1203-11.
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Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject. (n.d.). Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. Retrieved
July 21, 2014, from http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000

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Demirdjian, Z. (2013). The dynamics of brain drain during world economic decline. Journal of
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Jeong-Hee Ryu, & Judith, S. B. (2012). Household food insecurity during childhood and
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Kudlyak, M. (2013). A cohort model of labor force participation. Economic Quarterly - Federal
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Megan, C. Compounding crises of economic recession and food insecurity: a comparative study
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Suzanne, M. B. (1999). Feminization and juvenilization of poverty: Trends, relative risks,

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Appendix A

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Appendix A1
Quotes from People in the US in Food Deserts

Eating Healthy Foods

Searching for sales

Eating Out

I get food that we

dont have to prepare
Sometimes I dont have
and [my wife] buys
more than one vegetable [I go] where I can
her meals from
[serving]. I wonder if that is find the cheapest McDonalds once or
alright
food
twice a week

Source: Springer Science+Business Media

Food Selection
A candy bar
versus a cake,
versus a tri-tip
[steak]. You just
decide what you
can afford,

FOOD INSECURITY AND THE US ECONOMIC DOWNFALL OF 2008-2009 11