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1h ago

USDA Ends Annual Hunger Report, Puts Food-Security Researchers on Leave

Critics warn the decision will obscure the impact of recent SNAP cuts during a period of rising hunger.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 18: The sun flares behind the sign marking the headquarters building for the US Department of Agriculture on April 18, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
Stock image/file photo: A empty plain white plate and cutlery.
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Overview

  • Days after canceling the decades-old Household Food Security Reports, the USDA placed about a dozen Economic Research Service employees on paid administrative leave over an alleged unauthorized disclosure.
  • Union officials say the workers were escorted from offices and had laptops confiscated, while the USDA said breaches of non-public information undermine the agency’s integrity.
  • The department plans one final publication in October covering 2024, even as it argues the reports are redundant, costly, politicized and fearmongering.
  • Food insecurity affected 13.5% of U.S. households in 2023, with 47.4 million people living in food-insecure households, according to the most recent USDA data.
  • Researchers and anti-hunger groups say ending the survey will hinder tracking of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s SNAP changes, which the CBO estimates could leave roughly 2.4 million fewer people receiving benefits, and note no alternative matches the USDA report’s state-level detail.