Abstract

Most residents in Connecticut have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living. Yet each year there are households that experience limited access to food due to a lack of money or other resources. Between 2008 and 2010, 12.7 percent of residents in Connecticut were living in food insecure households (38% of which were living in ‘households with very low food insecurity’). Although it is extremely difficult to pinpoint where these food insecure households are located, we can look at certain town-level variables to draw comparisons on a town by town basis.

UConn Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy, UConn Cooperative Extension, CT Food Policy Council, and UConn CLEAR have collaborated to develop the new Community Food Security (CFS) in Connecticut Study with an accompanying website with interative map features. The CFS study and website provides a picture of how towns in Connecticut compare to each other under three separate conditions: 1) What is the likelihood that a resident is at-risk for food insecurity?; 2) What is the status of access to food options and geographic proximity to food retailers?; 3) How well are town residents being served through public food assistance services?