F3. Low-income households are most vulnerable to higher prices and could see a decline in diet and nutrition.

Low-income households already spend a larger fraction of their household budgets on food than do families with higher incomes. As food prices rise, low-income households will be the hardest hit and may experience a decline in nutrition.

Rising food prices will put added demand on food assistance programs. At the same time the costs of food assistance will rise and donations and government funding may falter as a result of a broader economic downturn. The effectiveness and adequacy of the food assistance and emergency food distribution system will suffer without targeted efforts to bolster its resources and, perhaps more importantly, targeted efforts to prevent families from needing such assistance in the first place.