# #FoodSecurityFridays Week 7 — Reproducibility Files

**"Not All Food Insecurity Is the Same: The Frequent Food Insecurity Scale"**

This folder contains a Stata program to reproduce all statistics in the Week 7 #FoodSecurityFridays LinkedIn post and infographic, which applies Nord's (2013) Frequent Food Insecurity Scale to the 2024 CPS-FSS data.

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## Files Included

| File | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `cpsdec2024.do` | Reads raw CPS-FSS ASCII data and creates Stata dataset |
| `fsf_week7_reproducibility.do` | Reproduces all Week 7 post statistics + full analysis |
| `fsf_week7_README.md` | This documentation file |

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## Requirements

- **Stata** (version 14 or later recommended)
- **December 2024 CPS Food Security Supplement** microdata

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## Data Access

Download the December 2024 CPS Food Security Supplement from the U.S. Census Bureau:

**URL:** [https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/cps/cps-supp_cps-repwgt/cps-food-security.html](https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/cps/cps-supp_cps-repwgt/cps-food-security.html)

Download the file `dec24pub.dat` (the raw ASCII data file).

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## Instructions

### Step 1: Prepare the Raw Data

1. Open `cpsdec2024.do` in Stata
2. Update the directory paths at the top of the file:
   ```stata
   * Specify the directory containing the raw data file
   local indir "YOUR_PATH_HERE"

   * Specify the directory where the Stata dataset will be saved
   local outdir "YOUR_PATH_HERE"
   ```
3. Run the program to create `cpsdec2024.dta`

### Step 2: Reproduce Week 7 Statistics

1. Open `fsf_week7_reproducibility.do` in Stata
2. Update the two `"YOUR_PATH_HERE"` entries near the top of the file:
   ```stata
   * rawdata = directory containing cpsdec2024.dta
   if "$rawdata" == "" {
       global rawdata  "YOUR_PATH_HERE"
   }

   * projdir = project directory (output/ and data/ created automatically)
   if "$projdir" == "" {
       global projdir  "YOUR_PATH_HERE"
   }
   ```
3. Run the program
4. Review the output log (`fsf_week7_analysis.log`) and CSV exports to verify statistics

---

## Statistics Reproduced

The reproducibility program generates all figures cited in the LinkedIn post and infographic:

### Standard Prevalence (Table 1)
- **13.7%** of U.S. households were food insecure in 2024
- **5.4%** experienced very low food security (VLFS)
- 18.3 million food-insecure households
- 7.2 million VLFS households

### Temporal Pattern Groups (Table 2)

| Group | Definition | % of FI HH |
|-------|-----------|:-:|
| B: Low FS, Occasional or Episodic | LFS + frequency score < 3 | 56.8% |
| C: Low FS, Frequent or Persistent | LFS + frequency score ≥ 3 | 3.9% |
| D: VLFS, Occasional or Episodic | VLFS + frequency score < 3 | 21.4% |
| E: VLFS, Frequent or Persistent | VLFS + frequency score ≥ 3 | 17.9% |

### Key Cross-Classification Findings (Table 2 & Export 2)
- **78%** of food insecure households experienced it episodically
- **22%** experienced it persistently (month after month)
- Among LFS households: only **6.5%** were persistent
- Among VLFS households: **45%** faced it month after month
- Persistence concentrates at the VLFS level

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## Methodology

### The Frequent Food Insecurity Scale (Nord, 2013)

The standard USDA food security measure captures *whether* food-insecure conditions occurred at any point during the past 12 months. The Frequent Food Insecurity Scale uses responses to the same survey items over the same 12-month reference period, but captures whether conditions occurred **"often"** (for household items) or **"almost every month"** (for adult items). This enables a short-run classification of occasional or episodic vs. frequent or persistent food insecurity within a single survey year.

**7 Frequent Food Insecurity Scale items:**

| # | Item | Affirmative response |
|---|------|---------------------|
| 1 | Worried food would run out | "Often true" (hess2 = 1) |
| 2 | Food bought didn't last | "Often true" (hess3 = 1) |
| 3 | Couldn't afford balanced meals | "Often true" (hess4 = 1) |
| 4 | Cut size or skipped meals | "Almost every month" (heshf2 = 1) |
| 5 | Ate less than should | "Almost every month" (heshf3 = 1) |
| 6 | Hungry but didn't eat | "Almost every month" (heshf4 = 1) |
| 7 | Didn't eat for whole day | "Almost every month" (hesshf1 = 1) |

**Scoring:** Raw score = sum of affirmative responses (range 0–7).

**Threshold:** Households with a frequency raw score ≥ 3 are classified as "frequently or persistently food insecure," following Nord's (2013) calibration against the standard 10-item adult scale threshold.

**Cross-classification:** Households are assigned to one of five temporal pattern groups based on both their standard food security status and their frequency score within the 12-month reference period.

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## Key Variables

| Variable | Description | Values |
|----------|-------------|--------|
| `hrfs12m1` | 12-month HH food security status | 1=High/Marginal, 2=Low, 3=VLFS |
| `hrfs12md` | 12-month HH food security (detailed) | 1=High, 2=Marginal, 3=Low, 4=VLFS |
| `hhsupwgt` | Household supplement weight | Integer (÷10,000 for analysis) |
| `hess2–hess4` | Block 1 items (often/sometimes/never) | 1=Often, 2=Sometimes, 3=Never |
| `heshf2–heshf4` | Block 2 frequency follow-ups | 1=Almost every month, 2=Some, 3=1–2 |
| `hesshf1` | Block 3 frequency follow-up | 1=Almost every month, 2=Some, 3=1–2 |
| `fs12fitem1–7` | Frequency items (constructed) | 0=No, 1=Yes |
| `fs12frawscore` | Frequency raw score (constructed) | 0–7 |
| `temporal` | Temporal pattern group (constructed) | A–E (see table above) |

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## Sources

Nord, M. (2013). To What Extent is Food Insecurity in US Households Frequent or Persistent? *Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition*, 8(2), 109–127.

Rabbitt, M.P., Reed-Jones, M., Hales, L.J., Suttles, S., & Burke, M.P. (2025). *Household Food Security in the United States in 2024* (Report No. ERR-358). USDA, Economic Research Service.
[https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=113622](https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=113622)

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## Contact

For questions about the methodology or data:

**Matthew P. Rabbitt, PhD**
Email: matthew.p.rabbitt@gmail.com
LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/matthew-p-rabbitt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-p-rabbitt/)

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*#FoodSecurityFridays — Measuring What Matters*