Hunger Action Month: Recognizing a Crisis Impacting Millions

For millions of Americans, putting dinner on the table can mean making difficult choices, like choosing between buying groceries and filling a prescription, or paying a utility bill. These decisions are part of everyday life for nearly 48 million people living in food insecure households, including 14.1 million children.

Food insecurity means that a person does not have enough to eat and does not know where their next meal will come from. The effects of food insecurity can extend into many areas of daily life, including a person’s health, financial stability and overall well-being.

Hunger Action Month provides an opportunity to bring greater attention to these challenges and the people experiencing them. Founded in 2007 by the Feeding America Network, the month serves as an opportunity to look at food insecurity more closely, at the national level and locally.

As we recognize the impact of hunger, it’s important to look beyond an empty refrigerator or missed meal and understand food insecurity as a widespread health issue. It affects 14% of the U.S. households and can have lasting effects on health and well-being, particularly when families are forced to make difficult choices to meet basic needs.

The Data Surrounding Hunger in America

In September 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the termination of future Household Food Security Reports, saying the reports were “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous” and did “nothing more than fear monger.”

For more than three decades, these annual reports provided a consistent way to measure food insecurity across the country and helped policymakers understand who was impacted and how the numbers changed over time. Ending these yearly reports will not make the problem go away. Without them, there will no longer be the same national benchmark for tracking food insecurity from year to year.

The final report, covering 2024, found that 13.7% of U.S. households, or 18.3 million households, experienced food insecurity. Of those households, 5.4% or 7.2 million households, experienced very low food security, the most severe end of the food insecurity spectrum. Among households with children, 18.4% experience food insecurity in 2024, an estimated 14.1 million.

Food insecurity does not affect every household equally. The 2024 data show significant differences among households, based on race, ethnicity and family structure. Those facing food insecurity include:

• 36.8% of households headed by single women with children.
• 24.4% of Black households.
• 20.2% of Hispanic households.
• 10.1% of white households.

Income, household structure, housing costs and other financial pressures can all influence whether a family can consistently afford enough food. A household may have working adults and still struggle to make ends meet when rent, utilities, transportation, childcare, healthcare and groceries all compete for the same paycheck.

These numbers offer a clear picture of who is most likely to experience food insecurity and the circumstances that contribute to it. The end of annual reporting does not change the reality reflected in these numbers. And since the release of this final report, major federal policy changes and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have gone into effect under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

A Closer Look at Food Insecurity Regionally

National statistics can make hunger seem like a distant problem, but local data tells a different story.

Northeast Ohio

In Northeast Ohio, systemic barriers such as poverty and lack of access to jobs contribute to food insecurity. In Cuyahoga County, 15% of residents are currently classified as food insecure.

Across the six-county service area of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, one in six people experience food insecurity. In fiscal year 2025, the Food Bank served more than 404,000 people and distributed more than 53 million pounds of food through its network of partner agencies and programs. 

The following 2025 statistics provided through the Greater Cleveland Food Bank show the level of need across the region:

• 114,000 children and 92,600 seniors were served by the Food Bank.
• One in four children in its service area are at risk of hunger.
• 46% of households served include a member who struggles with chronic health conditions.
• 21% of households visited an emergency feeding program for the first time.

Greater Washington, D.C. Region

Food insecurity is also widespread across the Greater Washington region. The Capital Area Food Bank serves a geographic area that includes Washington, D.C.; Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland; and Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William Counties in Virginia.

According to its 2025 Hunger Report:

• 36% of people in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) region experienced food insecurity in 2025, representing about 1.5 million people.
• The severity is worsening, with 22% of the region's adults experiencing very low food security, up from 16% in 2022. That's more than 820,000 adults in the most severe category, meaning households are reducing food intake or disrupting eating patterns because they lack resources.
• Food insecurity rates vary significantly across the region. In 2025, food insecurity ranged from 22% in Arlington County to 49% in Prince George's County.
• In the region, 77% of food-insecure people are working one or more jobs, and more than half have attended college or earned a degree.

Across both regions, the data underscores how widespread food insecurity remains, affecting people across ages, communities and employment circumstances.

The Impact of Changes to SNAP

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the primary tools for helping low-income households afford food. In fiscal year 2025, an average of 42.1million people in the U.S. received SNAP benefits each month, representing 12.3% of the U.S. population.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the primary goal of SNAP is to reduce food insecurity by helping eligible households afford adequate food. But SNAP participation is declining due in part to changes enacted through the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which changed SNAP work requirements, eligibility rules and how states share the cost of administering the program.

The effects are already visible in participation data. Between the law’s enactment in July 2025 and May 2026, approximately 5 million fewer people were receiving SNAP benefits nationwide, a decline of 12%, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The impact is being felt in Ohio as well. In fiscal year 2025, approximately 1.44 million people in the state received SNAP benefits, representing approximately 12.1% of the population.

The effects are also significant across the Greater Washington Region. According to the Capital Area Food Bank’s 2025 report, more than 480,000 people in its service area rely on SNAP each month. Approximately 50,000 families, more than 10% of the region’s current SNAP population, could lose an average of $187 per month in benefits as a result of the federal changes. With the average meal in the region costing $4.27, that equates to approximately 40 meals per month.

Across the U.S., the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects SNAP enrollment to be 2 million to 3 million people lower in each year from 2026 through 2035 than it had previously projected. CBO also expects provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, including expanded work requirements, to further reduce SNAP participation.

Several groups of people on SNAP previously exempt from work requirements must now meet them. These groups include:

• Adults aged 55 to 64 who are able-bodied and do not otherwise qualify for an exception.
• Parents of children ages 14-17.
• Veterans.
• People experiencing homelessness.
• Young adults aging out of the foster care system who previously qualified for an exemption.

The changes also create new financial responsibilities for states. Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, the federal government will reduce its share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 25%, increasing the share covered by states from 50% to 75%. The law also creates a new requirement, beginning in future years, for states with higher SNAP payment error rates to cover a portion of benefit costs.

The potential impact can be significant at the state level. In Maryland, for example, the Department of Human Services estimates that the administrative cost change will require an additional $57.5 million in state funding annually, increasing Maryland’s share of SNAP administrative expenses from $115 million to $172.5 million per year. Depending on its future payment error rate, Maryland could eventually face additional costs associated with SNAP benefits.

For households struggling to afford groceries, changes to food assistance can add another layer of uncertainty. For healthcare providers and community organizations, that makes connecting people with available resources increasingly important.

Taking Action for Healthier Communities

Hunger Action Month is an opportunity to better understand food insecurity and support the organizations working to address it.

That can mean donating to a local food bank like the Greater Cleveland Food Bank or the Capital Area Food Bank, or simply sharing information about food assistance programs with someone who may need them.

But no single organization can end hunger on its own. Addressing food insecurity requires food banks, schools, community leaders, policymakers and volunteers working together to connect people with the food and resources they need.

The latest national data show that millions of Americans continue to face challenges putting enough food on the table. While food insecurity is a complex issue, one thing is clear: reliable access to nutritious food is an important part of overall health and total well-being.

During Hunger Action Month, we can all take part by learning more, supporting local organizations and helping connect people with resources when they need them.

Learn more about Hunger Action Month at feedingamerica.org. To find food resources, visit United Way’s www.211oh.org in Northeast Ohio or the Capital Area Food Bank’s food assistance finder in the Greater Washington region.