Food Insecurity in Multigenerational Households

James P. Ziliak, University of Kentucky
Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

We use data from the 2001-2010 December Supplements of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to compare food insecurity in adult households age 40 and older with and without grandchildren present. In a typical year 4.2 percent of adult households have a grandchild living in the home, and about 75% are made up of three generations. Rates of food insecurity in multigenerational households are generally at least 2 times higher in a typical year than households with no grandchildren. Simulations of our model show that a hypothetical senior (defined as a senior who is white, retired, married, living in a metropolitan region, over the age of 80, and college educated) with a grandchild present and family income above twice the poverty line is at equal or greater risk of food insecurity than a similar senior with no grandchild in the household but whose income is below half the poverty line.