The statistics on this page come from a myriad of sources from Alabama Possible, Feeding America, the United States Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” They also categorize food security and food insecurity into four levels: high food security, marginal food security, low food security, and very low food security. The Department of Health & Human Services defines the poverty guidelines to determine who is eligible for federal subsidies and aid. The current poverty threshold (commonly referred to as the poverty line) for a family of four is $24,600.
The organization Alabama Possible (AP) has “been working to change the way people think and talk about poverty in Alabama since 1993.” In 2016, AP created a fact sheet with information on poverty and food insecurity in the State of Alabama.