A staggering 18 million households were food insecure in 2023, as shown by the Household Food Security Report published this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
According to the report, 13.5 percent of U.S. households struggled with food insecurity at least some time during the year in 2023, a significant rise from 12.8 percent in 2022, which was an even larger jump from 10.2 percent in 2021.
The report also shed light on the households experiencing very low food security— a more severe range of insecurity— as well as the households disproportionately impacted.
Additional findings include:
- In 2023, 5.1 percent of U.S. households had very low food security, meaning the food intake of some of the household members was reduced, and normal eating patterns were disrupted due to limited resources. Though the number remained the same from 2022, it’s a significant jump from 3.8 percent in 2021 and 3.9 percent in 2020.
- Children were food insecure in 8.9 percent of households with children (3.2 million households) in 2023, which is not a significant change from 8.8 percent in 2022; however, it is a significant jump from 6.2 percent (2.3 million households) in 2021 and 7.6 percent (2.9 million households) in 2020.
- In 2023, children and adults experienced very low food security in 1.0 percent of households with children (374,000 households). These households reported their children were hungry, skipped a meal, or went an entire day without eating because they didn’t have enough money for food.
- Rates of food insecurity in 2023 were higher than the national average among households with children (17.9 percent); households with a single parent (34.7 percent with a single mother, 22.6 percent with a single father); Black households (23.3 percent) and Hispanic households (21.9 percent); and households with incomes below the poverty threshold (up to 38.7 percent).
- Food insecurity was highest in large cities (15.9 percent) and rural areas (15.4 percent), as well as in the South (14.7 percent).
The report also underscored the importance of food assistance programs for those struggling with food insecurity. About 58 percent of food-insecure households received assistance from one or more of the three largest federal food and nutrition assistance programs in the previous month, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program; and the National School Lunch Program.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement calling on congress to take immediate action to expand support systems and address the hunger crisis in America.
“The findings of today’s report are a direct outcome of Congressional actions that short-change our children’s future and erode the safety net that hard-working families rely on in hard times— whether that’s blocking expansion of the Child Tax Credit or doubling down to restrict access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Policies like the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit and enhanced SNAP benefits helped drive the poverty rate down to a record low of eight percent in 2021. This is progress we should be working together to build on, not strip away,” he said.
“For anyone to go hungry in America is unacceptable. This report reaffirms that proposals to cut food assistance—including SNAP in the next Farm Bill—are misguided and out of step with the reality working families face.”