Publications & Resources

1 The official federal poverty measure is calculated each year by the U.S. Census Bureau. The measure is used to establish nationwide poverty thresholds that vary by household size. For example, the 2018 poverty threshold for a family of four (two adults and two children) is $25,465. In other words, at $25,465 per year, the family has an income that is 100% of the official poverty threshold. The family would be described as living “in poverty” according to the official poverty measure. However, the official poverty measure does not take into account all resources a
family may have (e.g., tax credits, public programs) or all necessary expenses (e.g., medical costs, child care). The official poverty measure also ignores variations in the cost of living across different locations. https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty.html

2 Analyses of food insecurity among higher income households are uncommon. However, an analysis of the Los Angeles County Health Survey found that among households with income below 300% of the federal poverty level, more than 13 percent are food insecure. (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Food Insecurity in Los Angeles County, September 2017. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/docs/LaHealth_FoodInsecurity_final_yr2017.pdf). Similarly, a nationwide analysis by the United States Department of Agriculture found that food insecurity “did not decline to negligible levels until income rose to about five times the poverty threshold” or 500% FPL. (Food Insecurity in Higher Income Households, Nord, M., and C. Brent. Food Insecurity in Higher Income Households, E-FAN-02-016, USDA, ERS, September 2002)

3 The federal poverty guidelines are a simplified version of the federal poverty thresholds, which are established from the official poverty measure. The guidelines are used for administrative purposes such as setting eligibility criteria for certain public assistance programs, including CalFresh/SNAP and free/reduced-price school meals.
Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. https://aspe.hhs.gov/frequently-asked-questionsrelated-poverty-guidelines-and-poverty

4 California Department of Education. Income Eligibility Scales for School Year 2018–19. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/rs/scales1819.asp California Department of Social Services. CalFresh Eligibility and Issuance Requirements. Accessed February 2019.
http://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/CDSS-Programs/CalFresh/Eligibility-and-Issuance-Requirements Glasmeier, Amy K., Living Wage Calculator. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed February 2019. http://livingwage.mit.edu/

5 Glasmeier, Amy K., Living Wage Calculator. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Accessed February 2019. http://livingwage.mit.edu/ “[The living wage model] is a market-based approach that draws upon geographically specific expenditure data
related to a family’s likely minimum food, childcare, health insurance, housing, transportation, and other basic necessities (e.g. clothing, personal care items, etc.) costs. The living wage draws on these cost elements and the rough effects of income and payroll taxes to determine the minimum employment earnings necessary to meet a family’s basic needs while also maintaining self-sufficiency.”