It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the federal government, at the urging of anti-hunger advocates, began researching food insecurity in the U.S. For 30 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conducted large-scale surveys to understand the scope and impact of food insecurity domestically. This research has been the gold standard for diagnosing the issue and shaping solutions. 

In late September, the current administration announced an end to the USDA’s annual Household Food Security Report. This closely followed the passage of a budget that drastically reduced spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—only to be halted entirely amid a government shutdown—and other vital food programs.

We are on the ground fighting hunger each and every day. We don’t need big data to tell us when hunger is on the rise, but we also know that refusing to look the problem in the face won’t make it go away. 

There are a lot of issues competing for our attention right now. So many of them are urgent and feel beyond our control. But filling in the hunger gap for a local child and their family is something real and impactful that you can do today.

There are numerous ways to get involved, but the most immediate and direct support you can provide is to help us meet our funding target—$4.7 million—by the end of this year.

Eighty-five cents of every dollar is spent on food—by far the largest line item in our budget. We deliver weekend meal bags to over 10,000 local children and provide 30,000 pounds of fresh food at each mobile pantry event. Our ability to continue helping neighbors in need depends on support from friends like you 

The fight against hunger is bigger than our little corner of the country, but locally, and with your support, we’ll continue doing everything we can to fill a widening hunger gap.