ADDITIONAL STATISTICAL DETAILS OF
FOOD INSECURITY SURVEY
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MEASURING FOOD INSECURITY
In the last year, have you ever had to make the difficult choice between buying food and paying for other essential expenses?
In the last year, have there been times when you could not afford to eat balanced meals with a variety of foods?
IMPACT OF FOOD INSECURITY
Impact on Physical Health
Significant Impact (red) - 19.3%
Some Impact (yellow) - 45.4%
No Noticeable Impact (blue) - 35.4%
Impact on Mental Health
Significant Impact (red) - 33.8%
Some Impact (yellow) - 43.4%
No Noticeable Impact (blue) - 22.8%
Impact on Performance
Significantly (red) - 18.1%
Somewhat (yellow) - 34.6%
No Noticeable Impact (blue) - 47.3%
IMPACT OF FOOD INSECURITY ON THE 42.4% RESPONDENTS INDICATING THEIR ANSWERS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT THE SAME HAD THE 2023 WGA STRIKE NOT TAKEN PLACE
In the last year, how often have you worried about having enough food for you and your family?
Always or Often (red) - 12.0%
Sometimes (yellow) - 25.9%
Rarely (blue) - 23.6%
Never (green) - 38.4%
In the last year, have you ever had to make the difficult choice between buying food and paying for other essential expenses?
Yes (red) - 25.9%
No (yellow) - 74.1%
In the last year, how often did you or your family skip meals due to lack of resources?
Always or Often (red) - 6%
Sometimes (yellow) - 7.4%
Rarely (blue) - 20.8%
Never (green) - 65.7%
SURVEY RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
The Food Insecurity Survey asked respondents a number of questions to help the Humanitas staff get a better understanding of the careers and social identities of the 509 people who took the survey.
Some of these questions were open ended. For data presentation purposes, some responses were interpreted by the Humanitas staff and standardized into one of the answers presented below.
Type of Writer
22.20% - TV Writer (Staff Writer)
12.57% - TV Writer (Story Editor)
10.41% - TV Writer (Producer-level)
3.54% - TV Writer (EP-level)
6.48% - TV Writers Room Support Staffer w/ a Writing Credit
4.91% - TV Writers Room Support Staffer w/o a Writing Credit
1.77% - Pre, Post or Production Staff w/ a Writing Credit
2.95% - Pre, Post or Production Staff w/o a Writing Credit
8.84% - Feature Writer (earns living through writing)
10.81% - Feature Writer (does not earn living through writing)
11.00% Emerging Writer who does not work in film/TV prod.
4.52% - Other
“Other” is defined here as a writer with a work situation which does not neatly fit into one of the above categories, often but not always involving a livelihood via film development, unscripted producing, animation or comedy-variety writing.
Gender Identity
Male - 29.9%
Female - 54.4%
Non-binary, agender, genderqueer, or questioning - 3.5%
Did not respond - 13.8%
Note: Only 4% of respondents included information specifying whether or not they identified as cisgendered.
Martial Status
Single - 55%
Married/Partnered - 39.5%
Divorced/Separated - 4.7%
Did not respond - 0.7%
Household Members
Average number of household members: 1.94
Median number of household members: 2
Smallest number of household members: 1
Largest number of household members: 7
1 Household Member - 43.4%
2 Household Members - 33.8%
3 Household Members - 10.6%
4 Household Members - 9.8%
5 Household Members - 2.0%
6 Household Members - 0.2%
7 Household Members - 0.2%
Guild Status
WGA Member Writer - 66.7%
Emerging writer NOT represented by a guild - 17.4%
Emerging writer represented by another guild - 7.5%
Professional writer NOT represented by a guild - 5.5%
Age
Average age of respondent: 41.12
Median age of respondent: 39
Youngest respondent: 24
Oldest respondent: 76
In their 20s - 7.3%
In their 30s - 35%
In their 40s - 25.7%
In their 50s - 11%
In their 60s - 4.1%
In their 70s - 0.6%
Did not respond or did not provide numerical detail: 16.3%
Note: Those who indicated a limited age range (“30s”) were recorded as the median of that range for the purpose of calculating the average and median responses.
Racial/Ethnic Identity
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) - 7.1%
Black/African-American - 14.1%
Latinix/Latina/Latino/Hispanic - 5.7%
Middle Eastern - 0.6%
Mixed Race - 7.8%
Native American/Indigenous - 1.4%
White - 49.5%
Did not respond - 13.8%
Level of Education
Some High School - 0.2%
High School Diploma - 1.4%
Some College - 3.1%
Associate’s Degree - 0.8%
Bachelor’s Degree - 46.5%
Some Graduate School - 0.8%
Master’s Degree - 31.8%
Some Postgraduate - 0.6%
PhD. - 1.8%
Juris Doctor - 0.6%
Other Postgraduate Degrees - 0.2%
Did Not Respond - 12.2%
Note: 67.6% of survey respondents did not specify an area of study. 16.7% indicated they studied film, theatre, creative writing, or had a fine arts degree.
ANSWERS FROM WRITERS WITH SENIORITY
The 116 respondents who indicated they were producer-level or EP-level TV writers or feature writers who made their living through writing were asked an additional set of survey questions and had the option to include additional thoughts on food insecurity’s affect on their early career.
In the earlier stages of your career, how did food insecurity affect your physical health or the health of your family members? (e.g., weight changes, chronic illnesses)
Significantly Impacted (red) - 21.7%
Somewhat Impacted (yellow) - 38.3%
No Impact (blue) - 40.0%
Did you notice any effects on your mental well-being due to food insecurity in the earlier stages of your career?
Significantly Impacted (red) - 30.1%
Somewhat Impacted (yellow) - 37.1%
No Impact (blue) - 32.8%
Did food insecurity affect the academic or job performance of you or any family members?
Significantly Impacted (red) - 17.2%
Somewhat Impacted (yellow) - 28.5%
No Impact (blue) - 54.3%
SELECTION OF NARRATIVE RESPONSES
“The cost of food was a constant anxiety always on my mind [during the early part of my career].”
“In the early parts of my career, I would often stay later at work to get dinner for free, and take as much free food as I could from the kitchen so I didn't have to spend money on groceries.”
“Early on, this wasn't a concern at all. Just out of film school, future is bright, many opportunities ahead. It became more of an issue as the years progressed.”
“My spouse had stable employment throughout my career, so that may have been part of the reason why I have experienced no food insecurity throughout my career.”
“In the early stages of my career (i.e. before I got staffed on my first show), I was living off my savings from a previous career. My anxiety level increased over time as I got closer to the end of my savings… I was lucky in that when I was down to my last month's worth of money, I got my first staff writer job and avoided any real food insecurity.”
NEURODIVERSITY & DISABILITY QUESTIONS
The Food Insecurity Survey included questions on disability status and neurodiversity. Both survey questions were open ended, and some answers were conformed to a binary yes or no answer for data presentation purposes. These questions were optional, and some respondents chose not to respond.
Do you identify as Disabled?
Yes (red) - 14.34%
No (yellow) - 67.78%
Did Not Respond (blue) - 17.88%
Do you identify as Neurodivergent?
Yes (red) - 17.68%
No (yellow) - 64.83%
Did Not Respond (blue) - 17.49%
The survey question provided for the respondent a definition of Disabled per the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically asking, “Do you identify as Disabled (per the ADA, do you identify as a person who has a physical or mental health condition or impairment that substantially limits one or more life activity)?”
The survey provided the following definition of neurodivergent: “differing in mental or neurological function from what is considered typical, frequently but not exclusively used with reference to autistic spectrum disorders and neurological and developmental disorders; not neurotypical.” Neurodiversity and neurodivergence are framework concepts used to discuss learning, behavior, and the processing of stimuli, and do not have strict legal or medical definitions.
NOTE ON DATA COLLECTED ABOUT INCOME
The survey asked respondents to estimate their annual and monthly incomes before and after the WGA strike began.
A common refrain among respondents was that work in the film and television sector, whether as a writer or otherwise, is inherently financially unstable. Employment is often tied to a production, which may only run for a few weeks or a few months. Gaps in employment can last just as long if not longer, leading to uncertainty and anxiety. Respondents indicated to us this made it difficult for them to know how to answer questions about monthly income. Writers who sell a feature-length screenplay may receive one or two large lump sums over a year, and then little to no income otherwise. To put it simply: monthly and annualized income reporting does not paint a complete picture of a writer’s financial position.
Future surveys of this population will most likely focus on the number of weeks employed over the course of a calendar year and will ask respondents to delineate between income from writing for film and television versus income from other sources.
REQUEST ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you are an academic, journalist, or work at a non-profit dedicated to food insecurity or film and television and are interested in learning more about the survey’s findings, tables breaking down responses by career status and some demographic information is available by request. Please use the form below to contact us or email us directly at admin@humanitasprize.org.