May 16, 2005

COMMENT LETTERS NEEDED ON FOOD SECURITY MEASURE

The Economic Research Service (via the Federal Register [PDF]) has called for comments on its request for renewal of approval for its annual collection of data on the extent and severity of food insecurity and hunger in the U.S. This collection is done through the supplemental food security questions in the Current Population Survey. It is especially important that those of us who rely on the data from this survey and other supporters of the continuation of this annual survey comment on this call for comments now, since the survey has come under the critical scrutiny of the current administration.

Your comments on the importance of the food security survey to your organization and its work, to your community and state leaders, and to low-income people are vital to the continuation of this invaluable data collection. Below are some suggested comments. Please feel free to use these and add to them, enriching them with your own experiences.

Comments can be submitted by mail (the address is in the model comment) or by email (marknord@ers.usda.gov)

Please take the time to send a comment letter by May 30. If you have questions, feel free to contact Lynn Parker at FRAC (lparker@frac.org or 202-986-2200, ext. 3012). Please send a copy of your comment to FRAC.

MODEL COMMENT LETTER ON FOOD SECURITY DATA
COLLECTION-Comments Must Be Received by May 30, 2005

May __, 2005

Mark Nord
Food Assistance Branch
Food and Rural Economics Division
Economic Research Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1800 M Street, NW, Room N-2180
Washington, DC 20036-5831
(Can also be e-mailed to: marknord@ers.usda.gov

Dear Dr. Nord:

This comment letter is in response to the Notice of Intent to Seek Approval to Collect Information, placed by the Economic Research Service in the Federal Register on March 25, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 57, page 15284).

It is our understanding that the Economic Research Service is requesting renewal of approval for annual information collection on supplemental food security questions in the Current Population Survey, beginning with the December 2005 survey. These data will be used: to monitor household level food security and food insecurity in the United States; to assess food security and changes in food security for population subgroups; to assess the need for, and performance of, domestic food assistance programs; to improve the measurement of food security; and to provide information to aid in public policy decision-making.

[Name of person or organization] is a [describe organization and its work on hunger and nutrition programs.] Based on [describe your experience with the food insecurity measure, how you use it and the data that are collected by the Current Population Survey on food security, and/or why it's important to your organization's work], we are in strong support of the food security supplement to the 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS), and the continuation of this supplement in the future.

We believe that the inclusion of the food security supplement in the CPS is essential to the proper performance of the functions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its sub-agencies, especially the Food and Nutrition Service and the Economic Research Service. The food security data collected by the agency through its consistent annual measurement have had, and will continue to have, major practical utility. They are invaluable in monitoring the prevalence of food insecurity and its severity, and food spending and the use of food pantries and emergency kitchens as they relate to food insecurity. They will help gauge if we are meeting, on a statistical basis that does not change over time, the specific official national food security objective that was set in Healthy People 2010. In addition, these data, and the research based on these data, have already provided us with essential information about the causes and consequences of food insecurity, and the continuation of data collection will allow future researchers to understand even more.

Especially important, the research findings that flow from these data will continue to assist our community and state, and policymakers at every level in our state, in gaining insight into the extent and severity of food insecurity, how it affects population sub-groups, whether it is getting better or worse, and how to craft and sustain public policies that will make a positive difference in all of our lives. Consistent measurement over time helps officials at the state level face up to the realities of what is happening in a state. [Add some sentences about how the data are used or have been used in your community and state to inform and move public policy.]

There is great respect among policy leaders, media, and others in our state for the food security data that are reported annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The transparency and clarity of the questions and methodology that are used to determine food security, food insecurity and hunger have been very useful in helping people understand what these terms mean in the everyday lives of households in communities across our state. They make enormous sense in light of what we as a nation define as the basic need for food that should be met for every person who lives in the United States.

We strongly support the inclusion of the proposed data collection as part of the 2005 Current Population Survey, and we urge the continuation of reporting, on a timely basis, food security, food insecurity, and hunger data, along with the other results of the annual food security module.

Thank you for taking our comments into consideration.

Sincerely,