Table 3.

Comparison of Items to Screen for Food Insecurity and Food Acquisition Stress

Items from USDA Household Food Security Survey Module (Short Form)*	Items from Current Food Acquisition Stress *
1. “The food that (I/we) bought just didn’t last, and (I/we) didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for (you/your household) in the last 12 months?	1. We change our diet at the end of the month when money was tight.
2. “(I/we) couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for (you/your household) in the last 12 months?	2. We could afford all the foods we enjoy. (reverse coded)
3. Did (you/you or other adults in your household) ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes, No, Don’t Know)	3. I made food choices based on what we can afford.
4. [IF YES ABOVE, ASK] How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months? (Almost every month, Some months but not every month, Only 1 or 2 months, Don’t Know)	Items from Memories of Food Acquisition Stress*
4. Did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes, No, Don’t Know)	1. We changed the way we ate when money was tight.
5. Were you every hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?	2. There was plenty of food in my home. (reverse coded)
	3. There were times we had to go without foods that we enjoyed because we could not afford them.
	4. We could afford steak when we wanted. (reverse coded)

^*Both measures ask respondents to think about the last 12 months. The USDA measure uses the response options as provided above. The Food Acquisition Stress Measure uses a 5 point scale of with Never = 0, Always = 4.