# #FoodSecurityFridays Week 8 — Reproducibility Files

**"We Spend Enough on Food — We Just Need to Spend Smarter"**

This folder contains a Stata program to reproduce all statistics in the Week 8 #FoodSecurityFridays LinkedIn post and infographic, which analyzes the food spending gap — the difference between what food-insecure households actually spend on food and what they report needing to meet their food needs.

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## Files Included

| File | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `cpsdec2024.do` | Reads raw CPS-FSS ASCII data and creates Stata dataset |
| `fsf_week8_reproducibility.do` | Reproduces all Week 8 post statistics + full analysis |
| `fsf_week8_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 8 Statistics

1. Open `fsf_week8_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_week8_analysis.log`) and CSV exports to verify statistics

---

## Statistics Reproduced

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

### Food Spending Need Assessment (Table 1)

Share of households reporting they need to spend more on food, by food security status:

| Food Security Status | Need to Spend More | Spending Is Adequate | Could Spend Less |
|---|:-:|:-:|:-:|
| High food security | 9% | 59% | 32% |
| Marginal food security | 34% | 51% | 15% |
| Low food security | 51% | 39% | 10% |
| Very low food security | 65% | 27% | 8% |

### Weekly Food Spending Gap (Table 2)

For households reporting they need to spend more (conditional on `hes8b == 1`):
- Median weekly spending gap: $100 (all FI), $100 (LFS), $100 (VLFS)
- Mean weekly spending gap: $101 (LFS), $111 (VLFS)
- Heaping at $50/$100 round values produces identical medians; means capture the heavier right tail among VLFS households

### Spending vs. Need vs. TFP Benchmark (Table 3)

Three-way comparison for food-insecure households (weighted medians):

| Measure | Median ($/week) |
|---------|:-:|
| Usual weekly spending | $150 |
| Self-reported adequate spending | $200 |
| USDA Thrifty Food Plan benchmark | $133 |

Spending as % of TFP: LFS median 104%, VLFS median 110%, food secure median 118%.

### SNAP Benefit Adequacy (Table 4)

For food-insecure SNAP participants who report needing to spend more:
- Median weekly SNAP benefit: $55
- Median self-reported weekly gap: $100
- SNAP covers 66% of the gap at the median
- 35% of FI SNAP households have benefits that fully cover the gap

### Gap by Household Characteristics (Table 5)

Spending gap variation by:
- Presence of children
- Presence of elderly members (60+)
- SNAP participation status
- Income-to-poverty ratio categories

### Food Spending Composition by FS Status (Table 6)

Supermarket vs. restaurant allocation. Food-insecure households allocate 78% of food spending to supermarkets vs. 68% for food-secure households.

### Share at or Above TFP (Table 7)

53% of food-insecure households already spend at or above the Thrifty Food Plan.

### Spending Gap as % of Income (Table 8)

For food-insecure households below the poverty line, the spending gap represents 42% of annual household income.

### Need-Group Contrast (Table 9)

Compares the 56% of food-insecure households that report needing to spend more with the 44% who say spending is adequate or could be lower:

| Statistic | Need More (56%) | Adequate or CSL (44%) |
|-----------|:-:|:-:|
| Very low food security | 45% | 32% |
| Income-to-poverty ratio (median) | 1.45 | 1.78 |
| Spending vs. TFP | 98% | 115% |
| SNAP participation | 37% | 31% |
| Unconditional SNAP benefit/week | $25 | $23 |
| Supermarket share (median) | 80% | 75% |

Policy finding: Among SNAP recipients, the "adequate" group receives a median of $62/week vs. $55/week for those reporting a shortfall.

---

## Methodology

### The Food Spending Gap

The CPS Food Security Supplement includes a three-variable sequence that constructs a within-household food spending gap:

1. **Usual weekly spending** (`hets8ou`): "How much do you usually spend on food in a week, including food purchased with SNAP benefits?" (topcoded at $500)
2. **Need assessment** (`hes8b`): "In order to buy just enough food to meet your needs, would you need to spend more than you usually do, less, or about the same?"
3. **Dollar gap** (`hets8co`): "How much more would you need to spend each week?" (topcoded at $300, conditional on `hes8b == 1`)

The **subjective food needs threshold** (`subfthrs`) is constructed as:
- `hets8ou + hets8co` when the household reports needing more
- `hets8ou - hets8do` when the household reports it could spend less
- `hets8ou` when the household reports spending is adequate

### Thrifty Food Plan Benchmark

The **Thrifty Food Plan** (`tfp_hh`) is the USDA's estimate of the minimum weekly cost of a nutritionally adequate diet, adjusted for household size and age/sex composition. It serves as the basis for SNAP maximum allotments. The program assigns per-person weekly TFP costs by age-sex category (2024 USDA schedule), sums across household members, and applies economy-of-scale adjustments by household size.

### Variable Construction

The program constructs all derived variables from raw CPS variables:
- **Food security status** from `hrfs12m1` (1=food secure → 0, 2=LFS → 1, 3=VLFS → 2)
- **SNAP receipt** from `hesp1`; **monthly benefit** from `hetsp3o`
- **Income** via midpoint imputation of `hefaminc` brackets; **poverty ratio** using 2024 Census Bureau poverty thresholds (by household size, number of children, and age of householder)
- **Household composition** (children, elderly, adults) from person-level age counts aggregated via `bysort revhhid: egen`
- **Weights**: raw `hhsupwgt` divided by 10,000 (4 implied decimal places)

### Survey Design

All estimates use household supplement weights (`hhsupwgt`) with `svyset` design. Weighted medians are estimated via `_pctile [pw=hhsupwgt]`.

---

## Key Variables

| Variable | Description | Values |
|----------|-------------|--------|
| `hets8ou` | Usual weekly food spending | 0–500 (dollars, topcoded) |
| `hes8b` | More/less/same to meet food needs | 1=More, 2=Less, 3=Same |
| `hets8co` | Weekly dollar gap (need more) | 0–300 (dollars, topcoded) |
| `hets8do` | Weekly dollar surplus (could spend less) | 0–250 (dollars, topcoded) |
| `subfthrs` | Subjective food needs threshold (constructed) | Dollars/week |
| `tfp_hh` | Thrifty Food Plan weekly cost for household | Dollars/week |
| `hetsp3o` | Monthly SNAP benefit amount (raw) | Dollars/month |
| `fs12cat` | 12-month food security status | 0=Food secure, 1=Low FS, 2=VLFS |
| `snap12` | SNAP participation past 12 months | 0=No, 1=Yes |
| `hhsupwgt` | Household supplement weight | Rescaled (÷10,000) |
| `numch` | Number of children in household (age 0–17) | Count |
| `numelder` | Number of elderly (60+) in household | Count |
| `hhincpv` | Income-to-poverty ratio | Ratio |

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## Sources

Nord, M. (2009). *Food Spending by Low-Income Households* (Report No. EIB-53). USDA, Economic Research Service.

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)

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). *Current Population Survey, Food Security Supplement, December 2024* [Data file and codebook].
[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)

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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*