Food security in the USA: issues of economic and legal support

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of economic and legal support of food security in the United States of America. The authors analyzed the concepts of "food security", "food insufficiency" and "lack of food security", used as an assessment of wellbeing and enshrined in US legal acts, and also identified the main indicators for assessing the state of food security. Based on the current, as of August 2021, statistical data, the level of food security of the population in the United States is shown and a reasonable conclusion is made that despite the program developed by the US Department of Agriculture for studying the level of food security, the availability of aff ordable food resources, not everyone living in the territory of this state provided with food (food) in the required quantity. At the same time, the national legal framework does not guarantee the right to food and the provision of practical forms of support for the most vulnerable social groups of the population for all citizens. It justifies the U.S.-specific decline in food security, which led to a decrease in the food supply of 13.7 million households, while from 2018 to the present, these households have diffi culty in providing all their members with enough food due to lack of resources. This decrease compared to 2018 (11.1 %) is statistically signifi cant, as 6.5 % of households with children (2.4 million households) were unable to provide their children with a complete and nutritious diet, resulting in children experiencing food insecurity. The article presents the points of view of experts and scientists who analyzed the state of economic and legal support of food security in the United States. The study allowed the authors to conclude that the considered features of the economic and legal support of food security in the United States are a reaction to the consequences of the economic crisis, which leads to a violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the majority of citizens living in the United States.