On September 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made a move that has sent ripples through the anti-hunger community and sparked fierce debate nationwide: the agency announced it would end its annual Household Food Security Report after the release of the 2024 edition. This report, a staple for 30 years, has long served as the government’s primary tool for measuring how many Americans struggle to access enough food. The USDA’s decision, made under President Donald Trump’s administration, has drawn both sharp criticism and staunch defense, highlighting deep divisions over the role of data in shaping public policy.
The USDA’s reasoning for ending the survey was blunt and unequivocal. In a press release, the department labeled the report as “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous.” Officials argued that the annual survey, which began during the Clinton administration, “failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.” The agency further stated, “These redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies do nothing more than fear monger.” According to the USDA, the data collected was “entirely subjective,” “rife with inaccuracies,” and failed to capture an “accurate picture of actual food security.”
The 2024 report, set for release on October 22, will be the last of its kind. After that, the USDA says it will no longer publish numbers on those facing food insecurity across the United States. The agency insists that trends in food insecurity have remained “virtually unchanged” over the past three decades, despite an over 87% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending between 2019 and 2023. “The data is rife with inaccuracies,” the USDA reiterated, suggesting that the reports served more to “create a narrative” than to reflect reality.
This rationale, however, has been met with skepticism and, at times, outright indignation from food advocates, economists, and some lawmakers. Critics point out that the cancellation comes at a time when food insecurity is on the rise and major changes to federal food assistance are underway. The Trump administration’s passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this summer expanded work requirements for SNAP, a move projected to remove food aid from an estimated 2.4 million Americans. In addition, several supports for food banks have been paused or canceled, and tighter work requirements for SNAP recipients have been introduced.
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) didn’t mince words, calling the USDA’s move “inexcusable and dangerous.” He argued, “For 30 years, this data has guided policy and fed hungry families. Ending it while so many struggle is inexcusable and dangerous.” Economist Justin Wolfers echoed this sentiment, suggesting the decision is aimed at removing evidence that “cuts to food stamps led to a rise in hunger.”
Food bank leaders, too, have voiced concern. Tami Nielsen, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa, said her organization has relied on the report for years to understand need and measure the effects of policy. Without it, tracking the outcomes of federal cuts will be much harder. “What are the outcomes of these federal cuts? That is lost by not publishing the data,” Nielsen told KCCI News. She warned, “Not counting them sends a message that they don’t count.”
Advocacy groups and researchers also dispute the USDA’s claim that food insecurity trends have remained unchanged. According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2023, including nearly 14 million children. Crystal FitzSimons, FRAC’s president, told NPR, “The national food insecurity survey is a critical, reliable data source that shows how many families in America struggle to put food on the table.” She added, “Without that data, we are flying blind, and we don’t know the impact.” The 2023 report, in fact, showed an increase in food insecurity, with the number of food-insecure children rising by 3.2% compared to 2022.
Kyle Ross, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, pointed out that the 2023 report revealed the largest rate of food insecurity since 2014. “That has no bearing in reality whatsoever,” Ross said of the USDA’s claim that the report is politicized. He suggested that the higher work requirements for SNAP and the resulting rise in food insecurity are likely motives behind the administration’s decision to scrap the report. “This will substantially increase food insecurity, and unfortunately, that will make itself clear in the data of food insecurity reports in the next couple of years,” Ross told NPR.
Amid the controversy, the USDA maintains that it has access to “more timely and accurate data,” though it has not specified what these data sources are. This assertion has surprised anti-hunger advocates, who note that the food insecurity questions are simply included in the yearly census data collection, hardly a costly or redundant process. Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger, said discontinuing the survey sends a signal that “tracking and battling hunger is no longer a priority” for USDA. “Hunger will not disappear simply because it is no longer tracked,” Mitchell said in a statement to Politico.
The decision to end the survey is part of a broader pattern of reorganization and cost-cutting within the USDA under the Trump administration. In July, the department announced plans to close several of its Washington, D.C. buildings and relocate staff to five regional hubs: Raleigh, N.C.; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Salt Lake City. The USDA expects no more than 2,000 employees will remain in the National Capital Region after the reorganization. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins argued that the move would bring the department “closer to the customers and to farmers.” But former Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow warned that such moves risk losing institutional knowledge and stability, both critical for effective policy and research.
The cancellation of the Household Food Security Report also comes as negotiations over the next farm bill intensify. Nearly 600 agriculture and food groups have written to congressional leaders, urging them to pass a “good” farm bill that addresses the “inescapable shadow” of recent USDA policies and cuts. These groups argue that a strong farm bill should include robust anti-hunger provisions and address the ongoing impacts of USDA reorganizations and funding freezes.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the end of the Household Food Security Report marks a turning point in how America measures and responds to hunger. Whether this decision will ultimately help or hinder efforts to combat food insecurity remains to be seen, but for millions of Americans who rely on food assistance, the stakes could not be higher.
