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Meals on Wheels America: Ending USDA’s Food Security Survey undermines data-driven policy

The chief advocacy and policy officer for Meals on Wheels America says the elimination of USDA’s Household Food Security Survey could weaken hunger relief efforts across the country. 

Josh Protas says according to the most recent data, more than 47.9 million Americans were food insecure in 2024.

“The rates are extremely high,” he says. “It’s not a matter of having enough food or having enough resources in this country, but it’s really about the political will to addressing this problem.”

The Trump administration recently announced it would no longer issue the annual survey. Protas says it provides the most comprehensive and accurate data set on food insecurity in the U.S.

He tells Brownfield last year’s government shutdown and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could further impact nationwide hunger.

“That definitely drove up food insecurity rates and drove up demand for Meals on Wheels programming,” he says. “We need to be able to have data to measure that and to understand the impacts of what these policy decisions are.”

Meals on Wheels America, ADvancing States, the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, and USAging are calling on the USDA to reverse its decision and ensure annual food insecurity data collection continues.

AUDIO: Josh Protas, Meals on Wheels America