WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday it will discontinue its long-running annual survey that tracks food insecurity across America, a move that experts warn will obscure the true extent of hunger affecting millions of households nationwide.
The Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, which has provided crucial data on American hunger for nearly three decades, will cease operations at the end of 2025. The survey has been instrumental in identifying trends in food access and guiding federal nutrition assistance programs.
USDA officials cited budget constraints and “redundancy with other data collection efforts” as reasons for eliminating the survey, which costs approximately $3.5 million annually to administer. The decision comes as food banks nationwide report record demand following recent cuts to federal assistance programs.
The survey, conducted in partnership with the Census Bureau, has been the gold standard for measuring food insecurity since 1995. It provides detailed information about household food access, including data on children’s hunger, meal skipping, and reliance on emergency food assistance.
Anti-hunger advocates expressed alarm at the announcement, calling it a deliberate attempt to hide growing food insecurity as federal nutrition programs face potential cuts. The survey has historically shown that one in eight American households struggle to afford adequate food.
“You can’t solve a problem you refuse to measure,” said Rebecca Martinez, director of the National Food Security Coalition. “This survey has been our primary tool for understanding hunger in America. Without it, millions of struggling families become invisible.”
The timing of the cancellation has raised particular concern among researchers. Recent data showed food insecurity rising for the third consecutive year, with 44 million Americans now living in food-insecure households, including 13 million children.
Food banks across the country rely on the survey data to plan their operations and demonstrate need to donors. The Greater Boston Food Bank reports a 40% increase in demand over the past year, trends that were documented and validated by the USDA survey.
The survey’s elimination will particularly impact rural communities, where food insecurity rates are typically higher but less visible. Rural food banks often use the federal data to secure grants and justify expanding services to underserved areas.
Academic researchers who have used the survey data for decades warn that alternative data sources cannot provide the same comprehensive picture. Private surveys typically have smaller sample sizes and lack the geographic coverage of the federal program.
Dr. Sarah Chen, a nutritional epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, called the decision “scientifically indefensible.” Her research using survey data has demonstrated clear links between food insecurity and childhood developmental delays, chronic disease, and educational outcomes.
The survey has also been critical in identifying disparities in food access among different demographic groups. Recent data showed that Black and Hispanic households experience food insecurity at nearly twice the rate of white households, information vital for targeting assistance programs.
State governments that rely on the survey to allocate resources and evaluate their own nutrition programs will be forced to conduct expensive independent research or operate without adequate data. Several governors have already protested the decision through formal channels.
The announcement comes as Congress debates the future of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with some lawmakers pushing for significant cuts. Advocates worry that eliminating the survey will remove a key tool for demonstrating the program’s continued necessity.
International organizations have also expressed concern, as the United States has been a leader in food security measurement. The United Nations uses American survey methodology as a model for tracking global hunger and achieving sustainable development goals.
The USDA’s own researchers have privately expressed frustration with the decision, with several senior statisticians reportedly considering resignation. Internal emails suggest the cancellation was made despite unanimous opposition from the department’s scientific staff.
Labor unions representing federal employees have filed grievances over the survey’s elimination, arguing it violates the agency’s mission to ensure food security for all Americans. The surveys employ hundreds of temporary workers annually who will lose their positions.
Former USDA officials from multiple administrations have signed a joint letter urging reconsideration of the decision. They argue that the survey’s modest cost is negligible compared to the billions spent on nutrition programs it helps evaluate and improve.
Emergency room physicians report increasing cases of malnutrition-related conditions, trends that would typically be captured and quantified by the survey. Without this data, health officials warn they’ll be unable to anticipate and prepare for nutrition-related health crises.
School nutrition directors use survey data to identify at-risk student populations and plan meal programs. The National School Nutrition Association warns that eliminating the survey will hamper efforts to address childhood hunger, particularly during summer months when school meals are unavailable.
As the final survey approaches, researchers are scrambling to design alternative measurement tools, though none are expected to match the comprehensiveness and historical continuity of the federal program. The loss of longitudinal data will make tracking long-term trends nearly impossible.
