By Ericka Jones

As we plow through the challenges that the year 2020 has brought us so far, we find ourselves in the middle of Census time. The Census is important because it is an opportunity to gather accurate data that we don’t typically have access to and helps in proving the systemic issues occurring in our community. From previous Census and related reporting, we have been able to determine the impact of the need for more accessible transit, housing, better health care, and more. In previous years the United States Department of Agriculture has reported the growth of food insecurity and 2020’s Census will give us the data we need to continue to fight this issue. Since March, the campaign has ramped up with tv commercials, flyers sent in the mail, and email blasts sent to ask for participation. It’s so important for every disabled person in the United State to fill out their Census form so that we can get a better idea of what the Disability Community is dealing with.

This is not a new subject and it is well known throughout the Disability Community. Food insecurity has levels of need to it. At its base, it means that an individual is unable to maintain food in their home after their bills are paid. This leads to many having to choose between keeping their power on or rent being paid and paying for groceries. A household is determined as food insecure based on the following set of questions:

  1. “We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  2. “The food that we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  3. “We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  4. In the last 12 months, did you or other adults in the household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  5. (If yes to question 4) How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
  6. In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  7. In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry, but didn’t eat, because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  8. In the last 12 months, did you lose weight because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  9. In the last 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)
  10. (If yes to question 9) How often did this happen-almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?

(Questions 11-18 were asked only if the household included children age 0-17)

  1. “We relied on only a few kinds of low-cost food to feed our children because we were running out of money to buy food.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  2. “We couldn’t feed our children a balanced meal, because we couldn’t afford that.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  3. “The children were not eating enough because we just couldn’t afford enough food.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?
  4. In the last 12 months did you ever cut the size of any of the children’s meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  5. In the last 12 months, were the children ever hungry but you just couldn’t afford more food? (Yes/No)
  6. In the last 12 months, did any of the children ever skip a meal because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)
  7. (If yes to the question 16) How often did this happen—almost every month some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
  8. In the last 12 months did any of the children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

Food insecurity was shown to be more common in households with working-age disabled adults. 33.5% of households with an adult who was not in the labor force were food insecure; 24.8% of households with disabled adults (adults age 18-64 who were disabled but didn’t indicate they were out of the labor force because of their disability) were food insecure; 12% of households with no disabled adults age 18-64 were food insecure. The reasons for such food insecurity are vast and complex. Issues like ableism, lack of accessible education, inconsistent transportation, and housing all link to the issue of food insecurityin the Disability Community. There are organizations nationwide working on this issue, so if you find yourself in a situation where you are food insecure reach out to your local independent living center. You can find out what is your local center by searching the directory at www.ilru.org.