Rising Food Insecurity in 2022: Struggles Persist After Pandemic Aid Ends

In a recently released report by the Department of Agriculture, it's been revealed that an estimated 17 million American households faced food insecurity issues in 2022, marking a notable increase from the previous year when government assistance helped alleviate the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic.

The report, based on a representative sample of approximately 32,000 U.S. households, paints a disheartening picture of the post-pandemic landscape, with significant increases in food insecurity observed across various categories. It indicates that 12.8% of households, equivalent to 17 million families, reported occasional difficulties in affording sufficient food. This figure is up from 10.2% (13.5 million households) in 2021 and 10.5% (13.8 million households) in 2020.

Food security analysts and professionals in the field point to a combination of factors contributing to this distressing trend. Chief among these are the simultaneous impact of rising inflation and the gradual phasing out of numerous pandemic-related government assistance measures.

Geri Henchy, Director of Nutrition Policy for the Food Research and Action Center, underscores the challenge: "This underscores how the unwinding of the pandemic interventions and the rising costs of food has taken hold. It's like a horrible storm for families."

Furthermore, the report identifies an increase in the number of households facing more severe economic hardship. It includes families experiencing "very low food security," defined as those having to ration their food consumption and enduring disruptions in their normal eating patterns due to limited resources. In 2022, this category increased to 5.1% (6.8 million households), up from 3.8% (5.1 million households) in 2021 and 3.9% (5.1 million households) in 2020.

While increased benefits and more flexible enrollment rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, remained in effect until early 2023, several federal and state-level pandemic aid initiatives concluded in the previous year. A noteworthy national change was the discontinuation of universal free school lunches for all students, a policy that phased out during the summer of 2022.

Geri Henchy emphasizes the significance of this policy change: "These were healthy, nutritious meals because the schools had good standards. It was great for the kids. It was stigma-free, and it was huge for people's budgets."

These findings align with accounts from food banks and charitable organizations in late 2022, which reported unexpected increases in demand during the holiday season. In many instances, these organizations underestimated the amount of food they would need to distribute, only to find that the actual need far exceeded their projections.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed his concern over the survey results, deeming them "unacceptable." He also stressed that the escalating need should serve as a wake-up call for those advocating the reduction of anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs.

Vilsack highlighted the continuation of increased fruit and vegetable benefits for recipients of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which targets mothers and young children. This is one of the few pandemic policies that persists, although there have been proposals in Congress to revert these benefits to pre-pandemic levels.

Vilsack emphasized, "The experience of the pandemic showed us that when the government invests in meaningful support for families, we can make a positive impact on food security, even during challenging economic times. No child should go hungry in America. The report is a stark reminder of the consequences of shrinking our proven safety net."