The current official poverty measure was developed in the early 1960s and only a few minor changes have been implemented since it was first adopted in 1965. The poverty threshold represents the cost of a minimum food diet in 1963 multiplied by three to allow for expenditures on other goods and services. It is updated annually based on the consumer price index to account for inflation. Family resources are defined as before-tax money income.
An estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2012, according to the USDA. In North Carolina, 25% of children live in households that were food insecure at some point during the year 2012.