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Food security

Domain

Prosperity

Subdomain

Economic security and deprivation

Indicator

Food security

Definition

Proportion of individuals by household food security status.

Measurement

This indicator is measured using the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) in the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).

The Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) is Canada's primary validated measure of food security. It contains 18 questions designed to measure food insecurity resulting from limited financial resources over the previous 12 months. The questions cover a spectrum, from worrying about running out of food, to children not eating for a whole day. The HFSSM serves as a household measure that assesses the level of food security of adults as a group and children as a group within a household.

A household is considered food insecure if they fall into one of the following three categories:

Marginal food insecurity: Worry about running out of food and/or limited food selection due to a lack of money for food.
Moderate food insecurity: Compromise in quality and/or quantity of food due to a lack of money for food.
Severe food insecurity: Miss meals, reduce food intake and, at the most extreme, go day(s) without food.

In the CIS and CCHS, respondents are asked:

The following statements may describe the food situation for your household in the past 12 months. Please indicate if the statement was often true, sometimes true or never true for you and other household members in the past 12 months.

You and other household members worried that food would run out before you got money to buy more

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

The food that you and other household members bought just didn't last and there wasn't any money to get more

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

You and other household members couldn't afford to eat balanced meals

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

You or other adults in your household relied on only a few kinds of low-cost food to feed the children because you were running out of money to buy food

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

You or other adults in your household couldn't feed the children a balanced meal because you couldn't afford it

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

The children were not eating enough because you or other adults in your household just couldn't afford enough food. Would you say:

Often true

Sometimes true

Never true

The following few questions are about the food situation in the past 12 months for you or any other adults in your household.

In the past 12 months, since last [current month], did 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

How often did this happen? Was it:

Almost every month

Some months but not every month

Only 1 or 2 months

In the past 12 months, did you (personally) ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn't enough money to buy food?

Yes

No

In the past 12 months, were you (personally) ever hungry but didn't eat because you couldn't afford enough food?

Yes

No

In the past 12 months, did you (personally) lose weight because you didn't have enough money for food?

Yes

No

In the past 12 months, did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn't enough money for food?

Yes

No

How often did this happen? Was it:

Almost every month

Some months but not every month

Only 1 or 2 months

Now, a few questions on the food experiences for children in your household.

In the past 12 months, did you or other adults in your household ever cut the size of any of the children's meals because there wasn't enough money for food?

Yes

No

In the past 12 months, did any of the children ever skip meals because there wasn't enough money for food?

Yes

No

How often did this happen? Was it:

Almost every month

Some months but not every month

Only 1 or 2 months

In the past 12 months, were any of the children ever hungry but you just couldn't afford more food?

Yes

No

In the past 12 months, did any of the children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn't enough money for food?

Yes

No

Data sources

This indicator is measured through more than one Statistics Canada survey. Estimates can vary between data sources due to differences in reference periods, targeted or sampled populations, data collection and other methodology.