Table 1.

Terminology used in this article

Term	Definition
Food Securitya	“Access by all people at all times to enough nutritious food for an active and healthy life.”
a. High Food Securitya	“Households that had no problems, or anxiety about, consistently accessing adequate food.”
b. Marginal Food Secuirtya	“Households that had problems at times, or anxiety about, accessing adequate food, but the quality, variety, and quantity of their food intake were not substantially reduced.”
Food Insecurityb	“Limited or uncertain ability to acquire nutritionally adequate and safe foods in socially acceptable ways.”
c. Low Food Security a	“Households that reduced the quality, variety and desirability of their diets, but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns were not substantially disrupted.”
d. Very Low Food Security a	“At times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money and other resources of food.”
Hungerc	“A potential consequence of food insecurity that, because of prolonged, involuntary lack of food, results in discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain that goes beyond the usual uneasy sensation.”
Food Desertd	“Area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of predominantly lower income neighborhoods and communities.”
Federal Poverty Guidelines e	Is the minimum income necessary to cover all the expenses of a family. The measurement is used to determine poverty status in the United States. It is based on the poverty thresholds of the Census, size of the family and the age of the members.

^aDefined by US Department of Agriculture.

^bDefined by Anderson 1990 [2].

^cDefined by US Department of Agriculture and the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies.

^dDefined by Farm Bill (2008), US Congress, Title VI, Sec. 7527.

^eAdapted from the US Department of Health and Human Services.