Food security means "all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life" (World Health Organization). It includes both physical and economic access to food that will meet a person's daily dietary needs.

There are people in every country and in every community that struggle with food security. In the United States, 50.1 million Americans are food insecure (Feeding America). This means approximately one in seven families do not have food security and nearly 16.7 million children in the U.S. do not have regular access to enough food to ensure a healthy life. In Alaska, 14.6% of the population is food insecure. Of this demographic, a disproportionate percentage are single women and children.