Poor states are more likely to experience civil conflict, but what about poverty places their states in such risk? We argue that it is not the lack of money that guides citizens to rebellion; rather, it us the lack of adequate supplies of food. Food is a basic human need that when in short supply undermines the legitimacy of governments. Our study builds on existing data and we examine the effect of food supply on civil war onset. Our results show that states lacking adequate supplies of food are at risk for civil war, even if they have relatively high levels of wealth. In addition, food deprivation exacerbates the risk of civil war in states that export large amounts of lootable resources.