Household Food Security Status for the Household of the Individual (please exclude shared households from analysis

Field: Household Food Security Status for the Household of the Individual (please exclude shared households from analysis - click on i for the correct method)

Description

Household Food Security Status for the Household of the Individual (excluding shared households), as reported by FRS respondents, where:

The definition of a household used in the Family Resources Survey (FRS) is 'one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room, or dining area'. So, for example, a group of students with a shared living room would be counted as a single household even if they did not eat together, but a group of bed-sits at the same address would not be counted as a single household. A household may consist of one or more benefit units, which in turn will consist of one or more people (adults and children) - see Family Type for more information.
In the 2019/20 survey, a new series of questions was added to the FRS on the topic of food security. This series of questions is asked of the person in the household who knows the most about food purchasing and preparation. There are a range of questions, asking about the household, adults within generate a household food security score. The score is equal to the number of 'positive' answers; 'yes', 'often true' or 'sometimes true', or '3 days or more', depending on the question. Households are then assigned a food security status based on their score (see Classification below). The circumstances of the household are applied to all individuals within that household.
To match HBAI published tables and analysis, estimates calculated must exclude shared households (see definition below), such as a house shared by a group of professionals. These respondents may not have insight into the food security status of others in their household and may not regularly share financial information. Please select 'Household Status' then click on 'Conventional Household' and then click on 'Filter'. Alternatively, deselect the 'Not applicable (shared household)' category in this breakdown.
The definition of shared household being used in the FRS is 'a household where the household reference person is unclear or arbitrary, such as a group of students, unrelated adults etc., where the household is being shared on an equal basis'. Households where adult children are living with their parents or where there are lodgers, but the owner lives in the household, are both not considered shared households for the purposes of this definition. See Household Status (conventional or shared) of the Household of the Individual for more information.

Classification

Applicable to: All Individuals:

Food Secure:

High (score = 0)
Marginal (score = 1 - 2 )

Food Insecure:

Low (score = 3 - 5)
Very low (score = 6 - 10)

Not applicable (individual is living in a shared household)

Not available (before 2019/20)

Number of higher level categories: 4

Number of lower level categories: 6

Quality Statement

The individual level data in these tables are presented using the household food security status. This means that one household food security status is used across all individuals within a household. Experiences of food insecurity can vary within a household. This data should not be presented using the phrasing "individuals are food insecure", but as "individuals living in food insecure households".

It should be noted that the FRS Household Food Security questions cover the 30 days prior to interview only; caution is needed when comparing household food security status with 12 month food bank usage, and also to other sources that may use different time periods.

Further information can be found in the HBAI Quality and Methodology Report here.