More people are going hungry now than at the height of the pandemic

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5836441/food-insecurity-economy-new-york-fed


More people in the United States are going hungry now than during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago.

In the U.S., hunger is often hidden. But it can still leave scars on body and mind
A survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found higher levels of food insecurity this year than during the summer of 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak sparked double-digit unemployment.

The New York Fed periodically asks Americans whether they're having to skip meals, having to rely on food donations or receiving federal assistance to buy groceries. Replies from the most recent survey, in February, show hunger is a more pervasive problem now than at any time in the last six years.