According to the USDA Economic Research Service's most recent Household Food Security report, 13.7 percent of U.S. households, representing about 18.3 million households and 47.9 million people, experienced food insecurity at some point during 2024. That figure was not statistically different from the 13.5 percent recorded in 2023, but it remains notably higher than the historic low of 10.2 percent recorded in 2021.
This guide is independently written and is not affiliated with USDA, OPM, or the official federal Feds Feed Families campaign.
What Food Insecurity Actually Measures
The USDA defines a food-secure household as one that had access, at all times during the year, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. A food-insecure household, by contrast, was at some point uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food due to insufficient money or other resources. Within that broader category, the USDA further distinguishes low food security, where households used coping strategies to avoid substantially disrupting their eating patterns, from very low food security, where food intake was actually reduced at times due to limited resources.
Households With Children Face Higher Rates
- What Food Insecurity Actually Measures
- Households With Children Face Higher Rates
- Disparities by Race and Ethnicity
- The End of a 30-Year Data Series
- More Recent, Independent Survey Data
- Why the Numbers Matter Beyond the Headline Figure
- FAQ
- How many Americans are food insecure?
- Why did food insecurity increase between 2021 and 2024?
- Is the USDA still publishing an annual food insecurity report?
- Do children experience food insecurity at higher rates than adults?
Households with children experienced food insecurity at a notably higher rate than those without, at 18.4 percent, meaning more than 14 million children lived in a household that experienced food insecurity at some point during 2024. Single-mother households faced an even steeper rate, with over a third, 36.8 percent, experiencing food insecurity that year.
Disparities by Race and Ethnicity
The 2024 data continued to show significant disparities along racial and ethnic lines, with households headed by someone identifying as Black experiencing food insecurity at 24.4 percent and Hispanic households at 20.2 percent, both more than double the rate for the overall population. These disparities have persisted across many years of USDA data and reflect broader, longstanding patterns of income and wealth inequality rather than a single-year anomaly.
The End of a 30-Year Data Series
In September 2025, USDA announced it would discontinue the Household Food Security report following the release of the 2024 data, ending what had been an annual measurement running for roughly three decades. This report had served as the primary national benchmark used by researchers, food banks, and policymakers to track hunger trends over time, and its discontinuation means future changes in food insecurity, including any effects from more recent policy shifts, will be harder to measure precisely at a national level going forward.
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More Recent, Independent Survey Data
Separate from the official USDA annual report, Purdue University's Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability has tracked food insecurity monthly since January 2022 using its own survey methodology. This ongoing monthly data suggested food insecurity climbed higher through late 2025, reaching approximately 16 percent in November 2025 according to this specific survey, though it's worth noting this comes from a different data source and survey method than the official USDA annual figures, so the two shouldn't be directly compared as if they were measuring identically.
Why the Numbers Matter Beyond the Headline Figure
Food insecurity statistics inform how food banks plan distribution capacity, how policymakers evaluate whether nutrition programs are reaching the people who need them, and how researchers study the broader relationship between poverty, housing costs, and hunger. A rate holding steady between 2023 and 2024, rather than falling, is itself notable, since it occurred during a period generally described as economically strong, with low unemployment, suggesting food insecurity in the United States is driven by structural factors beyond the headline unemployment rate alone.
FAQ
How many Americans are food insecure?
According to the USDA's most recent report, approximately 47.9 million people, or 13.7 percent of U.S. households, experienced food insecurity at some point during 2024.
Why did food insecurity increase between 2021 and 2024?
The increase followed the end of pandemic-era expanded SNAP benefits and other temporary supports in 2023, along with sustained grocery price inflation, though a range of structural factors, including housing costs, also contribute to the trend.
Is the USDA still publishing an annual food insecurity report?
No. USDA announced in September 2025 that the 2024 report would be its final one, ending roughly three decades of annual food security measurement at the national level.
Do children experience food insecurity at higher rates than adults?
Households with children experienced food insecurity at 18.4 percent in 2024, notably higher than households without children, and more than 14 million children lived in a food-insecure household that year.
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Purdue University Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.