According to the recent nationally representative food security surveys sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), elderly persons have a higher rate of food security compared to nonelderly persons. Maasuring the food security of elderly persons is done with series of methods.

Households that include elderly persons are generally more food secure than other U.S. households. However, not all elderly persons have achieved food security--access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. Analysis by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) of data from a nationally representative food security survey conducted in September 2000 shows that 94 percent of households with an elderly person (age 65 or older) present were food secure throughout the year.