The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed it will cancel the annual food insecurity survey that has been conducted continuously since the mid-1990s. This survey, traditionally carried out each December and covering approximately 40,000 households, was used to measure food security status across states and different population groups, serving as a crucial basis for government food assistance policy formulation and funding allocation.

The USDA's Economic Research Service notified staff during an internal meeting this week that the survey will no longer receive funding for 2025. A USDA spokesperson stated that this "non-mandatory report" has become overly politicized in recent years and, following review, was deemed no longer necessary to continue. However, the 2024 survey results will still be released to the public on October 22.

Following the announcement, both internal staff and scholars who have long studied this data expressed widespread shock. Syracuse University Professor Colleen Heflin noted that over the past 30 years, this survey has provided crucial reference points for measuring basic food needs of American households, making its termination particularly concerning amid high inflation and deteriorating employment market conditions.

According to 2023 data, 13.8 million children in the United States lived in households that had experienced food shortages, reaching the highest level in nearly a decade. Food banks have also reported continuously rising numbers of families seeking assistance in recent years, attributed to factors including the end of pandemic relief and rising commodity prices.

This survey served as a supplementary questionnaire to the Current Population Survey, including questions such as: "In the past 12 months, were you ever worried that food would run out before you had money to buy more?" The USDA utilized this data to compile annual food security reports, which were regarded as the official source for measuring hunger issues in America.

The decision to cancel the survey aligns with recent federal food assistance cuts. Legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President this summer reduced the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) budget and tightened eligibility requirements.

Multiple experts have criticized this move as potentially weakening monitoring of vulnerable population welfare. Baylor University Professor Craig Gundersen stated that food insecurity has become a key indicator for measuring the living conditions of vulnerable groups. University of North Carolina Professor Lindsey Smith Taillie was more direct: "The only reason not to measure it is if you're planning to cut assistance—then you can pretend the hunger problem doesn't exist."