Canceling the Annual USDA Household Food Security Survey is a Cop Out
Hannah Koehn and Laura Siller, PhD
Canceling the annual USDA Household Food Security Survey is strategic and cruel. On Sept. 30, the USDA announced it will end its long-running survey. This is a tactic for covering up the suffering that families across the nation will face as a result of historic cuts to federal nutrition assistance and healthcare programs.
For 30 years, the USDA has had bipartisan support in producing credible and reliable data on the status of food security in the United States. This data has provided essential information that policymakers, researchers, nonprofits, and anti-hunger advocates use to design and evaluate food security solutions. Without this survey, the nation loses insight into trends of food insecurity, especially among vulnerable populations. It is for these exact reasons that the Trump administration has decided to cancel the Household Food Security Survey.
The Trump administration has been quietly and systematically dismantling national data collection related to poverty and food insecurity. Why? Because they are simultaneously stripping away federal assistance programs, and they know that families are going to start to go hungry and lose access to health care. Canceling data collection is their strategy for avoiding public scrutiny and accountability over rising hunger.
The Trump Administration's Actions Worsen Food Insecurity
Since the beginning of the year, the current administration has made the following policy changes:
-
Cut $187 billion for SNAP over the next 10 years.
-
Eliminated SNAP and Medicaid eligibility for thousands of legally present immigrants, such as refugees and asylees.
-
Expanded work requirements to receive SNAP or Medicaid, despite evidence that suggests work requirements do not improve employment and instead harm vulnerable populations.
-
Moved costs onto states, knowing full well that this will financially burden states so they can’t provide adequate support to those on SNAP.
-
Blocked states from increasing current or adding new healthcare provider taxes to fund Medicaid.
Furthermore, this administration has been quietly dismantling accountability by:
-
Cancelling USDA’s annual household food insecurity survey.
-
Eliminating the office that sets poverty guidelines tied to public benefits.
-
Disbanding advisory groups meant to support accountability, such as the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, the National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnic, and Other Populations, and the 2030 Census Advisory Committee.
-
Discontinuing updates to the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey.
-
Removing sociodemographic data from national public health webpages, including Census, EPA, CDC, OPM, and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and adding disclaimers to these sites to sow doubt in their credibility.
-
Instructing the Commerce Department to exclude United States immigrants without legal documentation from being included in the U.S. Census.
-
Decimating the National Center for Education Statistics by firing almost the entire staff.
-
Cutting off research pathways – including billions of dollars in proposed funding cuts and frozen funding.
We know that hunger isn’t solved by ignoring it. Data transparency is a moral and democratic duty.
“We know that hunger isn’t solved by ignoring it. Data transparency is a moral and democratic duty.”
Laura Siller, Senior Director of Research & Evaluation at Project Bread
How Project Bread is Stepping Up
However, just because the federal government is intentionally obscuring the facts does not mean we should give up. In partnership with others across the state, Project Bread is leaning into research around hunger and food security solutions. We're taking steps to:
-
Invest in research and partnerships to track the true scale of hunger in Massachusetts.
-
Continue to connect people facing hunger with resources that will help.
-
Collect and share real stories of those impacted through our FoodSource Hotline, Council of Experts with Lived Experience, and community partnerships.
-
Push for bold policies and investments — at both the state and federal levels — to end food insecurity.
We're Not Backing Down
Data transparency is crucial in understanding and addressing the complex issue of food insecurity. Without accurate information, we cannot adequately assess the needs of our communities or develop effective solutions. When the federal government fails, we're stepping up with solutions to measure food insecurity in Massachusetts, while demanding transparency.