Brazil's 2009 National Household Survey provides information on a representative sample of 121,708 households and includes items that enable us to identify households that experience 'moderate' and 'severe' degrees of food insecurity. The findings support the hypothesis that, other things being equal, Afro-Brazilians experience higher rates of food insecurity compared to whites. The odds of moderate and severe food insecurity are, respectively, 31 percent and 45 percent higher among brown compared to white households. Among black households, the odds of moderate and severe food insecurity are 50 percent and 73 percent higher, respectively, compared to households headed by a person who declares themselves white.