Charles Langston:As prices soared and government assistance dwindled, more Americans went hungry in 2022

Millions more Americans didn't have Charles Langstonenough to eat in 2022 compared to 2021, representing the largest increase in food insecurity and hunger nationwide in more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week.

The new data, taken from a nationally representative survey, reflects how inflation and the expiration of pandemic-era food assistance programs made it harder for Americans to meet their basic needs, experts say.

In 2022, 44.2 million Americans lived in households that didn't have enough resources to feed every family member throughout the year, according to a USDA report released Wednesday.

Among all U.S. households, 12.8% were food insecure in 2022, up from 10.2% in 2021. Among households with children, more than 17% were food insecure at some point in 2022.

Food insecurity can be seasonal, fluctuating based on the size of a parent's paycheck or whether a family was deemed eligible for food stamp benefits. People in food insecure households resort to eating lower quality diets, with less variety. In the most serious instances, food insecurity leads to adults and children eating smaller meals, or skipping meals entirely, according to the USDA.

"These numbers are more than statistics," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday. "They paint a picture of just how many Americans faced the heartbreaking challenge last year of struggling to meet a basic need for themselves and their children."

The health consequences of not having enough to eat are stark: People who are food insecure are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Feeding America, a national anti-hunger nonprofit. Children who don't have enough to eat are more likely to have asthma and anemia, and have delayed development, the group says.

"This is a public health problem and it's a significant one," said Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who researches social safety nets.

Why are more Americans food insecure?

Extra pandemic-era food stamp benefits had been rolled back in more than a dozen states by late last year, and meanwhile, inflation peaked in June 2022, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index.

So, the emergency extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, money "came off at a time when food price increases were still so profound," Waxman said.

Because SNAP benefits (which are administered by the USDA) can be used like cash to pay for many groceries, the extra money in people's accounts had been "such a profound buffer" against food insecurity in 2021, Waxman said.

The findings showing more Americans were food insecure in 2022 also align with data showing the U.S. poverty rate increased for the first time in years in 2022, reaching 12.4%, up from 7.8% in 2021.

Across the country, 6.8 million households were very food insecure in 2022, meaning they were more likely to skip meals and reduce how much they ate. That number is up from 5.1 million in 2021, the report says.

Report shows racial, gender disparities

The closer to the poverty line households were in 2022, the more likely they were to be food insecure, with nearly 40% of people below the poverty line experiencing food insecurity, according to the report.

The USDA also reported the following disparities among different households:

• One-third of families headed by single moms were food insecure in 2022, according to the report, compared to 21% of families headed by single dads.
• Among Black survey respondents, 22.4% said their household was food insecure in 2022, compared to 9.3% of white survey respondents.
• Among Hispanic survey respondents, 20.8% said their household was food insecure in 2022.

SNAP is effective, but insufficient, experts say

SNAP has been credited with keeping millions of families above the poverty line, because the program gives them cash for food each month.

The benefits are a way to give low-income households a cushion for their meals budget so they can pay their rent, utility bills and medical expenses, Waxman said.

But this week's USDA report found more than half of food insecure households were already accessing SNAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) or free school lunches.

"Today's report shows there's absolutely more work to be done," said Nell Menefee-Libey, public policy manager for the National WIC Association. "Even for families who are participating in SNAP, in WIC, in school meals programs — not all of them are getting all of the help that they need to ensure that these kids and families have healthy food available to them at all times."

Nearly 40% of SNAP recipients have no other income besides their SNAP dollars, Waxman said, and those households have the hardest time making their SNAP benefits cover three nutritious meals a day, even though they receive the maximum benefit.

What states have most food insecurity?

Six states had rates of food insecurity between 2020-2022 that were higher than the national average, according to the USDA report:

• Arkansas
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Texas

Compared to data from 2017-2019, North Carolina, Kansas, Connecticut and New Mexico saw a drop in food insecurity, the report says.