30 Food Insecurity Survey Questions to Measure Hunger Effectively

Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM)

Why and When to Use This Type of Survey

You’re ready for the gold standard, so meet the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM), the rock star of food questionnaire surveys that governments, nonprofits, and academic researchers use to capture the full picture of food security at home.

Plus, it offers high-level credibility because it is trustworthy, validated, and widely used.

• It offers high-level credibility, so your data feels solid in any room

• It gathers detailed data on the severity and frequency of food hardship

• It tracks individual experiences, not just overall household trends

• It supports targeted public policy by defining who faces the greatest risk

• It is excellent for annual research, impact evaluation, and large-scale funding applications

Here’s the thing, unlocking comprehensive data on household food insecurity is the real prize you get when you choose this module.

On top of that, while the HFSSM includes more food insecurity questions, it still feels accessible and friendly for the people who answer it.

You can use it to break down barriers and uncover struggles that short screeners might miss, so if you are designing a food questionnaire survey for community studies, school districts, or health agencies, this is a very smart bet.

Sample Questions

1. In the past 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food?

2. Did you or other adults in your household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food?

3. In the last year, were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?

4. Did you lose weight in the last 12 months because there wasn’t enough money to buy food?

5. Did you or others in your home rely on only a few kinds of low-cost food in the past 12 months because money was tight?

Here’s the thing, meta-analysis shows the HFSSM (also called CFSM) exhibits strong internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.73 to 0.95 across multiple studies. source

The 6-Item Short Form Food Security Survey

Why and When to Use This Type of Survey

You might want something sturdier than a quick screen, but a full 18-question epic feels like too much. The 6-Item Short Form Food Security Survey gives you a happy medium that feels practical, not overwhelming.

Researchers and outreach workers like it because you get robust data without putting folks to sleep. Plus, you can actually finish it before your coffee gets cold.

• Covers core experiences: anxiety, food shortage, meal-skipping

• Short enough for phone interviews, digital surveys, or walk-in assessments

• Useful when you need reliable tracking across different populations

• Answers can be scored and categorized for easy reporting

• Helps uncover both “sometimes” and “often” levels of insecurity, not just the extremes

Balancing brevity with depth for reliable insight is its biggest advantage.

On top of that, it’s widely endorsed, so your results stand up in funding proposals or academic papers. It is ideal when you need a bit more context, maybe for annual reviews or program evaluation, and it works like a Goldilocks solution for food questionnaire surveys: not too short, not too long, but just right.

Sample Questions

1. In the last 12 months, did you worry that food would run out before you got money to buy more?

2. Did the food you bought just not last, and you didn’t have money to buy more?

3. In the last year, did you cut the size of your meals or skip meals because you didn’t have enough money for food?

4. How often did this happen: almost every month, some months, or in only one or two months?

5. In the past 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food?

6. Were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?

Child Food Security Supplement

Why and When to Use This Type of Survey

You know kids experience food insecurity differently, so your food questionnaire survey needs a special lens. The Child Food Security Supplement zooms in on the youngest household members so you can see what adult-focused questions miss.

• Zeroes in on child hunger, anxiety, and coping tactics
  
• Uncovers hidden struggles that might be masked by adults
  
• Required for school program evaluation, pediatric research, or youth-focused nonprofits
  
• Helps guide food pantry services for children and teens
  
• Aligns with top food security questions about at-risk youth
  

Focusing on child-focused food insecurity questions helps you see beyond the surface.

Here’s the thing: Kids may be shielded from the harshest hunger, but they still notice when the cupboard is bare or when meals suddenly get very “creative.” These food questionnaire survey questions help you capture their unique story so school nurses, counselors, and youth agencies can turn that insight into practical solutions.

Sample Questions

1. In the past 12 months, were you ever worried that your household would run out of food before you or your children got more money?

2. Did your children ever not eat enough because there wasn’t enough money for food?

3. In the last year, were you ever unable to feed your children balanced meals because you couldn’t afford it?

4. Did you ever cut the size of your children’s meals because there wasn’t enough money for food?

5. How often were your children hungry but you just couldn’t afford more food for them?

A 2‑item food insecurity screen for families with young children showed 97% sensitivity and 83% specificity, effectively identifying households at risk. Source

Food Environment and Food Choice Questions

Why and When to Use This Type of Survey

Here’s a tasty twist: food insecurity is not just about having “enough food,” it is also about what kind of food you can actually get. The Food Environment and Food Choice angle helps you look at what people eat and what shapes their choices.

These survey questions about food choices reveal more than hunger, because they pull back the curtain on affordability, neighborhood access, and cultural fit. Plus, you get to see the story behind the shopping cart instead of just counting how many bags of groceries someone has.

• Gets at issues like local food deserts and transportation

• Shows where and how you shop, access, and select foods

• Useful for health education, urban planning, and nutritional outreach

• Explains why healthy options may be out of reach, even when food is present

• Pinpoints barriers (cost, distance, selection) that classic questions about food insecurity miss

Here’s the thing: exploring how context shapes food security is the real highlight of this survey type.

On top of that, you finally get to understand why the healthiest foods always seem to live on the farthest shelf. Nutritionists, city planners, and community food projects use these food security questions to build smarter, context-aware policies and food programs that actually match people’s real lives.

Sample Questions

1. How easy or difficult is it for you to buy healthy, affordable food in your neighborhood?

2. In the past month, have you changed where you shop for groceries because of rising prices?

3. What is the top reason you don’t buy fruits and vegetables more often? (Price, distance, quality, other)

4. How do transportation challenges (lack of a car, unreliable public transit) affect your access to groceries?

5. When money is tight, what kinds of foods do you cut back on first?

Community and Social Food Security Assessment

Why and When to Use This Type of Survey

You zoom out to the big picture with the Community and Social Food Security Assessment, which puts food insecurity questionnaire results on the map, literally, so you can see how everything fits together.

These tools help you track collective resources, gaps, and strengths in local food systems so you can plan with real data, not just guesses.

• You look at the big currents, like support networks, food sharing, and community resources

• You measure the impact of local food banks, school meal programs, and sharing economies

• You reveal local food system strengths and weaknesses

• You get a strong foundation for neighborhood food councils, city-wide food strategies, and advocacy campaigns

• You bring out the social fabric behind food choices and resilience

Measuring social and systemic food insecurity shows you where your community comes together or where it might need some repair.

Plus, you discover just how far the rumor of a neighborly casserole can travel before it runs out of Tupperware.

These food security questions help you, your partners, and your community leaders build stronger food programs that fit real neighborhoods instead of lab conditions.

Sample Questions

Using clear, targeted questions helps you uncover how your community really experiences food access and support.

1. Does your community have enough resources, like food pantries or meal sites, to meet local needs?

2. In the last year, have you or someone in your home gotten groceries or meals from a food bank or similar program?

3. How often do neighbors or family share extra food with you or others?

4. What are the biggest challenges to accessing emergency food support in your area?

5. Are there groups or organizations in your community you can rely on for help when food runs low?

Food insecurity surveys work like your secret decoder ring for the big and small stories behind every meal.

On top of that, whether you use a rapid screener or a deep-dive food questionnaire survey, your choices shape real-world responses, better food policy, and more honest conversations about hunger.

With the right food survey questions, you open up dialogue, drive change, and maybe even make life a little easier for the folks who most need it, which is a pretty great upgrade from bland to brilliant.

Nutritional Quality & Hunger Experience Survey

There’s more to food security than just calories. Nutritional quality questions in your food survey help you uncover the “hidden hunger” of vitamin or mineral gaps, even when bellies seem reasonably full.

A food questionnaire survey on nutrition helps you connect the dots from diversity on the dinner plate to both personal and public health.

Why & When to Use

Mix these nourishing questions into your lineup if you want to:

• Spotlight how dietary diversity measures up in homes or neighborhoods.

• Pinpoint meals and days that are most prone to outright hunger.

• Equip NGOs or researchers to dig into patterns of protein and micronutrient intake.

On top of that, these food insecurity questions power both academic studies and big, bold NGO projects fighting malnutrition, so your survey can punch well above its weight.

5 Sample Questions

1. How many different fruits did you consume yesterday?

2. In the past week, did you or anyone in your household go a whole day without eating?

3. How often do you add protein sources such as beans, eggs, or meat to meals?

4. Rate your concern about vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

5. Which meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) are most frequently skipped?

Here’s the thing: that’s how your food survey questionnaire upgrades from basic bean-counting to a holistic hunger map that actually tells the full story.

Best Practices: Dos and Don’ts for High-Performing Food Insecurity Surveys

Ready to jump in? Food questionnaire survey best practices help you avoid serving up a half-baked mess.

The right approach sets you up with honest, clear answers, with no survey fatigue, no confusion, and no ethical landmines.

Dos

• Use plain, everyday wording.

• Keep food insecurity survey questions limited to what you truly need to know.

• Pilot test your food insecurity questionnaire with a small group.

• Offer both digital and paper options to bridge tech gaps.

• Build in skip logic, so no one answers questions that don’t apply to them.

• Ensure questions are culturally respectful and relevant.

• Time surveys to reflect seasonal shopping, school calendars, or policy cycles.

• Get informed consent, respecting privacy and dignity.

Don’ts

• Don’t cram in jargon, academic speak, or government lingo.

• Don’t ask questions in a way that blames or shames.

• Don’t make it too long without a good reason.

• Don’t ignore accessibility, since font size, language, and device compatibility matter.

• Don’t forget to review and update your food insecurity questions yearly.

Here’s the thing, sometimes “how much” is more useful than “why,” so you should pick your depth based on your goals.

On top of that, a few great questions are worth more than a giant, unread report.

By now, you’ve got the info to choose and use the best food insecurity questionnaire for any scenario, from hungry students to bustling city streets.

Plus, when you ask the right food insecurity questions, listen closely to the answers, and let what you learn feed change that lasts, you get surveys that do more than count problems, they actually help solve them.