In the United States, domestic hunger has been surveyed annually by the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, since 1995. For 30 years, the USDA’s Economic Research Service has measured the level of food insecurity among U.S. households.
On September 20, 2025, the USDA announced that they are cancelling the Household Food Security Reports, meaning the 2024 report will be the last under the current format. In its announcement, the U.S. administration stated they were cancelling the survey because “These redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies do nothing more than fear monger”. Additionally, the announcement indicated that “trends in the prevalence of food insecurity have remained virtually unchanged…between 2019 – 2023”
However, according to the USDA Household Food Security Report of 2023, food insecurity has been on the rise since 2020. Across the 4-year period, the prevalence of food insecurity (those with low and very low food insecurity) among US households rose from 10.5% in 2020 to 13.5% in 2023, an increase of just less than 5 million households – representing 47.5 million Americans. The same trend is seen with the prevalence of households with very low food security rising from 3.9% in 2020 to 5.1% in 2023, representing 1.7 million households. According to the USDA, the definition of a food insecure household is one which had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of resources. A household with very low food security was one in which the food intake of some members of the household was reduced, and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because of limited resources.
The cessation of this report occurs at a time when the USG’s 2026 federal budget expands the work requirements for those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, approximately 6% of beneficiaries, or 2.4 million Americans could lose benefits because of these changes to the law. The loss of this key data source will likely make it more difficult to understand the scale of food insecurity in the U.S.
Various food security policy, advocacy and research experts are arguing that the cancellation of this annual survey will result in the loss of a significant data source that is used to inform policy on how to combat food insecurity in the U.S.. For example, Bread for the World issued a press release urging USDA to reverse the decision. They argued that the survey/report has been foundational for understanding how families experience food insecurity, especially children, and for making evidence-based policy decisions. The Food Research and Action Center criticized USDA’s decision as “shortsighted” and warned that eliminating the report hides the struggles of millions of families. They emphasized the importance of data in assessing policy impacts (e.g. SNAP cuts).
Ending the USDA Household Security Report eliminates one of the few consistent measures of household hunger at a time when food insecurity data is more important than ever. As Megan Lott, a food policy researcher, notes, “the report is an irreplaceable tool for assessing how policy decisions shape families’ lives.” Protecting robust food insecurity data is not just a technical question, it is a matter of public accountability and an investment in evidence-based policymaking that prioritizes the well-being of households nationwide.
References:
1. USDA Press release, “USDA Terminates Redundant Food Insecurity Survey September 20, 2025” https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/09/20/usda-terminates-redundant-food-insecurity-survey
2. USDA Economic Research Service, “Household Food Security in the United States in 2023”
https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/109896/ERR-337.pdf?v=33413
3. Congressional Budget Office Congressional Budget Office, “Estimated Effects of Public Law 119-21 on Participation and Benefits” August 11, 2025 https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-08/61367-SNAP.pdf
4. Bread for the World Press Release “Bread Urges the USDA to Retain the Annual Food Security Survey and Report” September 23, 2025
Bread Urges the USDA to Retain the Annual Food Security Survey and Report
5 Food Research and Action Center Press Release “USDA’s Decision to End 30-Year Food Security Report Will Hide the Struggle of Millions of Families to Put Food on the Table” September 23, 2025
https://frac.org/news/foodsecuritysurveyterminationsept25
6 Douglas, L. (2025, September 22). Impact of Trump cuts will be harder to track without USDA hunger survey, advocates say. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/impact-trump-cuts-will-be-harder-track-without-usda-hunger-survey-advocates-say-2025-09-22/
