USDA Terminates Annual Household Food Security Report

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the termination of Household Food Security Reports — annual studies from the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) that assess the prevalence of food insecurity in the United States — after nearly 30 years of use.

“These redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous studies do nothing more than fear monger,” said the agency in a Sept. 20 statement.

Household Food Security Reports — initially created by the Clinton administration — have been used since 1997 to estimate household food security in the country.

The USDA said the reports have “failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.”

The agency claimed that trends in the prevalence of food insecurity have remained virtually unchanged, “regardless of an over 87% increase in SNAP spending between 2019–2023.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were temporarily boosted by the government.

According to the most recent Household Food Security Report, food insecurity in the U.S. has risen from 10.2% of American households (13.5 million households) in 2021 to 13.5% (18 million households) in 2023. 

The report reveals that 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2023, including 13.8 million children.