WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is discontinuing the USDA's annual report on hunger in America, citing concerns of politicization and inaccuracies within its findings.
This decision follows recent legislation signed by President Trump that significantly reduced food aid, with the Congressional Budget Office predicting that approximately 3 million individuals would lose eligibility for SNAP benefits as a result of the new tax and spending cuts bill.
Reported first by The Wall Street Journal, the USDA announced that its 2024 Household Food Security Report, due to be released on October 22, will be the last of its kind.
According to the USDA, the questions used to compile data for these reports are “subjective” and do not accurately reflect the current state of food security, particularly as the nation experiences falling poverty rates and job growth.
However, many critics of the administration contend that eliminating this report serves to obscure the rising rates of hunger that stem from recent cuts to food assistance programs. Bobby Kogan, a spokesperson for the left-leaning Center for American Progress, remarked on social media that this decision aligns with tactics seen in many undemocratic regimes that manipulate or invalidate reports to avoid reflecting negative news.
The Census Bureau recently reported that the U.S. poverty rate decreased from 11% in 2023 to 10.6% in the previous year, prompting further debate on the juxtaposition between these figures and the realities faced by struggling households.
