Some 13.5% of U.S. households had trouble getting enough food in 2023, up from 12.8% the year before, as food insecurity among Americans continued to rise, USDA reported Wednesday.
The food insecurity rate had jumped even more in 2022, rising from 10.2% in 2021. That was the largest annual increase recorded by the agency since 2008.
The 2023 rate is just below the highest recorded rate of insecurity of 14% in 2014. About 18 million households were classified as food insecure in 2023.
These results come as American consumers remain concerned about the rising cost of living and food prices. While inflation has slowed since the COVID-19 pandemic, at-home food prices are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels due to a number of factors.
Anti-hunger advocates called the report “damning” and said lawmakers need to take immediate action to reverse this trend.
“This report must be a wakeup call for every American,” said Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger, in a statement. “We urge policymakers to act now.”
The study found that 17.9% of households with children were food insecure at some point last year. In these households, both children and adults were insecure in 8.9% while only adults were insecure in about 9%.
In 1% of households with children, or about 374,000 households, food insecurity was so severe that caregivers said children were hungry, skipped a meal or did not eat for a whole day because of a lack of resources.
Last year 5.1% had very low food security, which represents a more severe range of insecurity. That number stayed the same from 2022, but is a jump from the 3.8% in 2021. Households with very low food security may have reduced food intake at points throughout the year, and normal eating patterns may be disrupted due to limited resources.
Rates of food insecurity last year were above the national average in several groups, including 15.4% of rural households and 15.9% of those in principal cities.
Rates were also higher in households with children led by a single parent and those with incomes below the poverty threshold.
There were also racial disparities in the food insecurity rates. Households with a Black reference person reported more food insecurity at 23.3% in comparison to white households at 9.9%.
Regionally, food insecurity was the most prevalent in the South, with 14.7% of households experiencing food insecurity. This compared to 13.4% in the Midwest, 12% in the Northeast and 12.9% in the West.
Seven states had food insecurity rates higher than the national average in 2023, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.
About 58% of food-insecure households surveyed reported getting assistance from one or more federal nutrition assistance programs in the previous month. These programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program, and the National School Lunch Program.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement the findings of this latest study are a consequence of congressional actions like blocking the expansion of the Child Tax Credit. The report also demonstrates that programs like SNAP, WIC and NSLP are effective and must be strengthened, he continued.
"For anyone to go hungry in America is unacceptable," Vilsack said in the statement. "This report reaffirms that proposals to cut food assistance—including SNAP in the next Farm Bill—are misguided and out of step with the reality working families face.”
The latest data demonstrates the “food insecurity crisis” in the country, and shows that public and private investment is necessary, said Angela Williams, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide.
“These numbers show us that too many people are struggling to provide enough food for their households, which has serious consequences not only for individuals and families but also for community strength and security,” Williams said in a statement.
Other anti-hunger groups echoed Vilsack's remarks and pointed to these figures as evidence that more investments are needed in programs like the Child Tax Credit, Healthy School Meals for All and SNAP.
"We have the tools to end hunger in America,” Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research and Action Center, said in a statement. “It’s time to wield them and finally make hunger in America a thing of the past."
This story was updated with comments from USDA.
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