How many hungry people are there in the US? In the mid-1980s this question set off a flurry of activity that ultimately resulted in annual measurements of the proportion of US households and individuals who are food insecure and hungry.
In this seminar Christine Olson, Cornell professor of nutritional science, addresses the history of food insecurity measurement, and the antecedents and consequences of food insecurity and hunger in the US. She also describes current research addressing the dynamics of food insecurity.
Olson is a member of the Institute for the Social Sciences theme project on persistent poverty and upward mobility.