This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture, working with the Director of the Census Bureau, to set up and keep an interagency food security measurement program. The program will coordinate annual collection, analysis, and reporting of data on food insecurity and hunger.
The Current Population Survey must include a food security supplement consistent with the 2023 questionnaire for 2026 through 2028 and continue thereafter with questions substantially similar to those listed in the bill. Any changes to the questions must follow robust testing, review, public input, and Office of Management and Budget clearance.
The Secretary of Agriculture must include findings from those questions in the Department's annual agriculture report, make the report publicly available on the Department website, and submit the report to Congress.
The bill lists specific household and child-focused questions the supplement must ask about worrying food would run out, food not lasting, inability to afford balanced meals, cutting or skipping meals, frequency of events, eating less, hunger without eating, weight loss, not eating for a whole day, and several child-specific items.
The bill authorizes appropriation of "such sums as may be necessary" to carry out the program and requires the Secretary to provide funding to the Census Bureau for costs of conducting the annual food security supplement.
The bill provides that "such sums as may be necessary" are appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the program. The Secretary must transfer funds to the Census Bureau to cover costs of the annual food security supplement. No publicly available information on total estimated costs is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.