Official Site of The State of New Jersey

This viewpoint advocates for updating the definition of food security from one recognizing only four dimensions (availability, access, utilization, and stability) to one recognizing six dimensions by including agency and sustainability.

Clapp, J., Moseley, W. G., Burlingame, B., & Termine, P. (2022). Viewpoint: The case for a six-dimensional food security framework. Food Policy, 106, 102164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102164

University of Waterloo; Macalester College; Massey University; High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security

2022

English

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919221001445

Summer EBT is a new-to-NJ child nutrition program intended to reduce hunger and food insecurity for children who lose access to free school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) during the summer when school is not in session. The program provides an EBT card for every eligible child to purchase food at participating retailers. View the NJ Summer EBT website for more information.

State of New Jersey

2024

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https://www.nj.gov/summerebt/

Food security is a complex social condition with continually changing and interacting factors with underlying causes. Focusing on a single metric of food security can give an incomplete (and potentially inaccurate) understanding of the issue. This data chartbook provides a guided summary of a select few food security metrics, including determinants, measures, and impacts, to provide a nuanced yet streamlined overview of the state of food security in New Jersey. The metrics included in this chartbook are not an exhaustive representation of the issue.

Hunger Solutions Consulting; New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

2024

English

/foodsecurity/documents/The State of Food Security in New Jersey - A Data Chart Book_Summer 2024_FINAL.pdf

True food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and cultural preferences for an active and healthy life.

In this fireside chat about upstream, forward-thinking food security efforts in New Jersey, administrators from Hudson and Somerset counties discuss how they intentionally center the voices and expertise of communities and trusted community-based partner organizations to guide county-level food security efforts such as the coordination of mobile resource fairs. We’ll also hear real world applications for upholding residents’ dignity, adding value and lifting potential barriers to make it easier for communities to participate in surveys, community health needs assessments and other processes as they’d like, and then using the data to form work groups and build more widespread support for advancing equity through a food security lens.

New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

2024

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https://youtu.be/P11lTbJ695s

Ending hunger or food insecurity has nothing to do with giving people food. In our first fireside chat about holistic, forward-thinking food security efforts in New Jersey, leaders from “food and” community organizations talk about how they have incorporated workforce development into their work, paying participants as they build skills and gain practical experience in their chosen fields. Plus, we’ll meet two alumni from these programs and hear their perspectives on how they are leveraging their training in their current roles and future goals.

New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

2024

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https://youtu.be/0Jq3YbIxz14?si=H41xh2q6WsG5VmP_

The NJ Consortium for Immigrant Children hosts an Immigrant Rights Resources Page. The page hosts s a collection of resources developed to support legal service providers, nonprofit staff, educators, and other individuals who work with the immigrant community. These materials are aimed at educating those who serve immigrant children and families about immigrants’ rights and proactive ways immigrants can protect themselves. The slides on Nonprofit Response to Immigration Enforcement in New Jersey: Food Security Organizations provides information specific to food security organizations. The information on this page is not legal advice. For advice about a specific legal matter, please consult an attorney.

New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children

2025

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https://www.njcic.org/s/226-Slides.pdf

The New Jersey Food Security Initiative (NJFSI) is a three-year cross-sector, collaborative, community-centered effort to increase food security and good nutrition, and advance health equity, in New Jersey. NJFSI aims to increase food security, equitable access to healthier food options, and community purchasing power in New Jersey through enhanced infrastructure, coordination across systems, advocacy, and leveraging of federal, state, and local resources, assets, and opportunities. NJFSI seeks to support and uplift existing initiatives and collaborations across New Jersey by providing additional funding opportunities, capacity-building, resources, and technical assistance.

New Jersey Food Security Initiative

2023

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https://njfsi.org/our-vision

Following a formative phase, Calloway et al. (2023) conducted a pilot test with a sample of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States from April to June 2021 across five states (California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington). This test supported the development measures of availability, utilization, and stability that complement the USDA’s household food security survey measure (HFSSM), which primarily assesses access. Calloway and colleagues found that higher scores for these new measures were generally linked to increased food insecurity and that many of the measures were linked to worse health and dietary outcomes, which were statistically significant. While the findings of this study support the reliability and construct validity of the new measures with the convenience sample surveyed, further assessment is necessary. Pending further testing with more representative samples, Calloway and colleagues envision these new measures as tools that can be utilized to better understand the food insecurity experience, such as via further examination of seasonal and intramonthly food insecurity.

Calloway, E. E., Carpenter, L. R., Gargano, T., Sharp, J. L., & Yaroch, A. L. (2023). New measures to assess the “Other” three pillars of food security-availability, utilization, and stability. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20(1), 51–51. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01451-z

Center for Nutrition & Health Impact; Colorado State University

2023

English

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc10134599/

"Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and cultural preferences for an active and healthy life." This is the definition of food security that OFSA has adopted from the United Nations' High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. This definition encompases the six dimensions of food security, which provide an expanded and evolved understanding of this complex social issue. The six food security dimensions include availability, access, utilization, stability, agency, and sustainability. Read the primer to learn more about the six dimensions of food security and current food security work in New Jersey that have impact across the dimensions. 

New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

2024

English

/foodsecurity/documents/Food%20Security%20in%20New%20Jersey-A%20Brief%20Primer%20on%20the%20Six%20Dimensions%20of%20Food%20Security.pdf

The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) is the science-policy interface of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which is, at the global level, the foremost inclusive and evidence-based international and intergovernmental platform for food security and nutrition (FSN). This report provides information to inform future actions on FSN in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This report describes a global narrative that builds on what we know about the current situation with respect to FSN concepts, outcomes, drivers and critical policy directions that are vital for meeting SDG 2 targets. The key messages of this report are:

1. There is an urgent need for strengthening and consolidating conceptual thinking around FSN to prioritize the right to food, to widen our understanding of food security and to adopt a food systems analytical and policy framework.
2.  FSN outcomes in recent years show the extent to which the global community is falling short on Agenda 2030 targets, especially SDG 2, while food systems face a range of challenges – and some opportunities – linked to major trends in the drivers of food system change.
3.  Policy approaches and actions for FSN, in light of the diverse challenges facing food systems, will require critical policy shifts and support for enabling conditions that uphold all dimensions of food security

High Level Panel of Experts. (n.d.). FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION BUILDING A GLOBAL NARRATIVE TOWARDS 2030. https://www.fao.org/3/ca9731en/ca9731en.pdf

High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security

2020

English

https://www.fao.org/3/ca9731en/ca9731en.pdf

Calloway et al. (2023) conducted a pilot test from January 2020 to December 2021 across five states (California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington). They aimed to develop U.S.-relevant measures to assess household Absorptive Capacity, Adaptive Capacity, and Transformative Capacity among households at risk of food insecurity in the United States. Calloway and colleagues found that households with higher scores for the measures were associated with greater household resilience to financial shocks and are, in turn, less likely to experience subsequent food insecurity. While the findings of this study support the reliability and construct validity of the new measures with the convenience sample surveyed, further assessment is necessary. Pending further testing with more representative samples, Calloway and colleagues envision these new measures can be utilized to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences of those facing food insecurity and to develop tailored upstream interventions.

Calloway, E. E., Carpenter, L. R., Gargano, T., Sharp, J. L., & Yaroch, A. L. (2022). Development of three new multidimensional measures to assess household food insecurity resilience in the United States. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1048501

Center for Nutrition & Health Impact; Graybill Statistical Laboratory, Colorado State University

2022

English

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36589949/

Calloway et al. (2022) conducted a nationwide study of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States from January 2020 to December 2021. After identifying measurement gaps, they developed three measures (nutrition security, healthfulness choice, and dietary choice) to assess nutrition security and choice in dietary characteristics. Calloway and colleagues found that households with higher scores for the new measures were associated with having fewer external constraints limiting their ability to acquire and choose foods based on healthfulness and preferences. While the findings of this study support the reliability and construct validity of the new measures with the convenience sample surveyed, further assessment is necessary. Pending further testing with more representative samples, Calloway and colleagues envision these new measures as tools that can be utilized to better understand households’ limitations for accessing healthful foods that meet their preferences in various environments.

Calloway, E. E., Carpenter, L. R., Gargano, T., Sharp, J. L., & Yaroch, A. L. (2022). Development of new measures to assess household nutrition security, and choice in dietary characteristics. Appetite, 179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106288

Center for Nutrition and Health Impact; Colorado State University

2022

English

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36049571/

The NJ Department of Agriculture (NJDA) grants team serves the state by identifying federal funding opportunities that support agriculture, conservation or rural development and are designed to accomplish specific objectives, including activities that build food security and opportunities that are open to applications from community-based organizations. Additionally, the NJDA grants team administers federal and state funding in the above focus areas. During a June 2024 OFSA work session for multi-sector coalitions, NJDA Grants Coordinator William “Billy” Conners shared strategies for seeking out and securing federal and state grant funding for community-based, holistic food security work. The slide deck includes information for community-based organizations doing food security work to de-mystify programmatic language, prepare their teams for upcoming grant opportunities and more.

New Jersey Department of Agriculture

2024

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https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/

Nearly 23 percent - more than 2 million of New Jersey’s 9 million residents - are immigrants, and over a quarter million U.S. citizens in New Jersey live with at least one family member who is undocumented.  The Office of New Americans (ONA), in the Department of Human Services, supports new Americans through outreach and education, and works on priorities to build trust, improve access to social services, workforce development and employment services, and legal services for immigrants. The ONA seeks to increase accessibility to State programs available to new Americans, including those who speak languages other than English. Community-based organizations whose focus includes food security work, are encouraged to visit the ONA website for information and resources for neighbors who are new Americans.

Department of Human Services Office of New Americans

2021

English

https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/njnewamericans/

The New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA), the first executive-level office of its kind in the nation, is tasked with coordinating the administration of the State's food security programs, advocating for those who are experiencing food insecurity, and developing new policy initiatives to advance food security and facilitate greater access to food relief programs. Read this brief to learn more about OFSA, understand how the office is shifting the food security narrative, read community food security stories, and learn how you can become a partner in the movement.

New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

2024

English

/foodsecurity/documents/about-nj-ofsa.pdf