A family collects food from the community pantry at the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin, Texas, on March 26. The USDA under the Trump administration has decided to discontinue its annual food insecurity survey.
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), during the Trump administration, declared on Saturday the termination of its long-established annual survey that tracks food insecurity, labeling it as “duplicative, expensive, politicized, and unnecessary.”
This survey, known as the Household Food Security Report, has been a vital resource for measuring the extent of food scarcity among low-income households in America, guiding policies aimed at alleviating hunger and improving nutrition access.
The USDA’s decision follows the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year, which tightened work requirements for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This policy change is projected to cut off food assistance for approximately 2.4 million Americans.
Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), an organization dedicated to fighting hunger in the U.S., emphasized to NPR the importance of this survey. She described it as an essential and trustworthy tool that reveals how many American families face difficulties securing enough food.
FitzSimons warned that without this annual data, policymakers and advocates will lose a clear understanding of the hunger crisis and how to effectively address it.
“Eliminating this data leaves us navigating without direction, unable to gauge the true impact,” FitzSimons stated.
According to USDA figures, in 2023, 47.4 million Americans lived in households experiencing food insecurity-meaning at times they were unsure or unable to obtain sufficient food for all members. Among them, nearly 14 million were children.
The USDA justified ending the survey by claiming that food insecurity rates have remained largely stable over time.
However, experts contest this assertion.
Kyle Ross, a policy analyst at the progressive think tank Center for American Progress, told NPR that the 2023 report actually indicated a rise in food insecurity. He noted that the rate was the highest since 2014 and significantly greater than levels recorded just two years earlier.
The 2023 findings also revealed a 3.2% increase in the number of children facing food insecurity compared to the previous year, according to FRAC.
Ross further dismissed the USDA’s claim that the survey was politically influenced, calling it “completely unfounded.”
Originating during the Clinton administration, the Household Food Security Report has been a consistent annual publication for three decades, spanning multiple administrations from both major political parties.
Ross speculates that the Trump administration’s decision to cancel the survey is linked to the stricter SNAP eligibility rules, which are expected to exacerbate food insecurity.
“The tightening of work requirements will likely lead to a surge in hunger, which will become evident in future food insecurity data,” Ross explained.
The USDA has not provided further comments to NPR regarding the rationale behind discontinuing the survey.
The final report, covering data from 2024, is scheduled for release on October 22, as reported by The Associated Press.
