Trump Administration Scraps US Hunger Survey
The Trump administration has moved to eliminate the government’s long-running survey on food insecurity, arguing that the research has become too politicized to be useful.
In a statement released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), it was stated that the Household Food Security Reports, which have tracked hunger levels for more than three decades, would no longer be produced.
“The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), following continuous review of programs and economic reporting, will discontinue future Household Food Security Reports,” the agency said.
Officials insisted the survey is no longer necessary, claiming its design injects bias into the results. “The questions used to collect the data are entirely subjective and do not present an accurate picture of actual food security,” the USDA added. “The data is rife with inaccuracies slanted to create a narrative that is not representative of what is actually happening in the countryside as we are currently experiencing lower poverty rates, increasing wages, and job growth under the Trump Administration.”
The announcement comes in the wake of sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), pushed through by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress earlier this year. Independent analysts say the reforms will likely cut off millions of Americans from food aid.
The most recent report, released in 2023, showed that 13.5 percent of US households were food insecure, the highest level in over a decade.
It is unclear if the USDA’s remarks were directed at data collected in 2025, which would not normally be published until 2026.
The decision also highlights a broader clash between the Trump administration and government statisticians. While official economic indicators this year have shown slowing growth and a tightening labor market, Trump has repeatedly denounced those findings as misleading. Earlier this year, he dismissed the head of the Labor Department’s statistics bureau and nominated right-wing economist E.J. Antoni, a loyal supporter, to take the position.
