Advocates Urge Action as US Food Insecurity Reaches Its Highest Levels in Years

As Americans all across the country report feeling increasingly pressed by inflated food prices, an explosive new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveals that about 18 million families — or 13.5% of U.S. households — struggled to access enough food, marking the highest levels of food insecurity in nearly a decade.

This increase represents a troubling spike from 2022, when 12.8% of households reported insecurity, and 2021, when the figure was just over 10%.

The report also highlights another alarming reality: Nearly 9% of households with children experienced food insecurity, up from 2021. And while, as the report authors put it, children are “usually shielded from the disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake that characterize very low food security,” over 380,000 families experienced days where children were hungry, skipped a meal or did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food.

According to report authors Matthew P. Rabbitt, Madeline Reed-Jones, Laura J. Hales and Michael P. Burke, the survey included “30,863 households, which comprised a representative sample of the U.S. civilian population of about 133 million households.” Researchers asked one adult respondent per household about experiences and behaviors that indicate food insecurity during calendar year 2023, such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals, or being hungry because of too little money for food. The food security status of the household was assigned based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported.

In response to the report, Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger, expressed outrage at the growing hunger crisis. “This damning report shows that hunger in America is getting worse, not better,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Policymakers must take immediate and decisive action to reverse these deeply troubling trends.”

Mitchell characterized the current situation as “unconscionable,” noting that food insecurity disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic households and those living in poverty. Additionally, single-parent households, households headed by women, and those in rural and urban regions of the U.S. — as opposed to the suburbs — experienced disproportionately high rates of food insecurity.

“The data are clear: last year, food insecurity among Black and Hispanic Americans was more than twice as high as White Americans, and afflicted nearly 40% of people at or below the poverty threshold,” Mitchell said. “These persistent disparities reflect the systemic economic and health inequities that continue to plague our country.”

While it might be tempting to solely attribute the spike in hunger to food inflation, food insecurity experts including Mitchell and Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), point to pandemic-era programs that successfully aided in addressing the issue during a time of global upheaval.

Many of these programs, which temporarily boosted SNAP benefits, allowed for the implementation of universal free school meals and expanded the Child Tax Credit, were a lifeline for families. However, many of those same programs expired or were rolled back, leaving households who had participated in them struggling to make ends meet.

(This is reflected in the data in the USDA’s new report, which shows that 47.4 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity last year, an increase of 3.2 million compared to 2022, and 13.5 million compared to 2021.)

“Without greater investments in anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs, hunger in this country will continue to climb. The findings in USDA’s report highlight the need to make significant investments in and expand proven programs like SNAP, Healthy School Meals for All, and the Child Tax Credit,” FitzSimmons wrote in a statement. “We have the tools to end hunger in America. It’s time to wield them and finally make hunger in America a thing of the past.”

She continued: “FRAC is deeply concerned that a growing number of families in America struggle to put food on the table. The latest Household Food Security report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service confirms FRAC’s ongoing warning: Without greater investments in anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs, hunger in this country will continue to climb.”

FitzSimons emphasized that proposals to cut SNAP benefits — like the $30 billion reduction over the next decade currently under consideration — would only worsen the problem.

“This is why FRAC and more than 1,400 national, state, and local organizations signed a letter urging Congress to strengthen SNAP benefits and protect SNAP from any cuts in the Farm Bill or any other legislative vehicles moving forward,” FitzSimmons said. “Congress also should make free Healthy School Meals for All available to all students, reinstating the policy that was so successful during the pandemic and following in the footsteps of the eight states that have passed Healthy School Meals for All policies.”

As hunger in the U.S. reaches its highest levels in years, advocates are urging policymakers to act swiftly.

“This report must be a wakeup call for every American,” Mitchell concluded. “We urge policymakers to act now, before more families fall deeper into hunger and poverty.”