New USDA Report Shows Food Insecurity Increased in Texas and Across the Nation from 2022 to 2023
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For Immediate Release: 09/05/24
Contact: Wesley Story
Food banks cannot end hunger alone – Texans need action from lawmakers.
TEXAS – This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its annual study measuring food security in the U.S., Household Food Security in the United States in 2023. The report shows that Texas has the second-highest rate of food insecurity at 16.9%. This is more than 4.5% higher than the U.S. average and a 1.4% increase compared to last year’s food insecurity rate.
According to the report, overall food insecurity also increased across the nation from 12.8% in 2022 to 13.5% in 2023. In Texas, 1 in 6 households are food insecure. This means approximately 1.9 million families–including nearly 5.1 million Texans–are at risk for hunger.
“These staggering numbers reflect the growing need food banks are seeing in communities across our state,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks. “Inflation and the high cost of food are making it harder for Texans to afford necessities, while the significant backlog in processing SNAP applications is preventing Texans from accessing the benefits they need. As food insecurity increases across the nation, lawmakers should make it easier — not harder — to access SNAP benefits and emergency food assistance. Our neighbors facing hunger, and the food banks who proudly serve them, are counting on lawmakers to act.”
The Feeding Texas network is calling for action at both the state and federal level to address this increase in food insecurity. We are advocating for:
- Resources and flexibility to fix delays in processing SNAP applications: Strain on staff and resources at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has created an overwhelming backlog of SNAP applications. This means many Texans are facing wait times of 100+ days before being approved for food assistance. HHSC is a long-time partner of Feeding Texas, and we are working closely with the agency to support Texans applying for benefits, alleviate strain on HHSC staff, and connect families caught in the backlog to food bank resources. Both food banks and HHSC will need additional resources and flexibility to tackle these challenges and prevent more Texans from going hungry.
- A strong Farm Bill with increased investment in SNAP and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Congress has an opportunity to pass legislation that could reduce food insecurity with the Farm Bill. Reauthorization was supposed to occur last year, but debate on the Farm Bill continues. While SNAP is the backbone of hunger relief in our nation, TEFAP is the cornerstone of emergency food assistance, accounting for over 20% of our network’s food supply. We urge elected officials to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill package that strengthens SNAP and TEFAP while protecting investments already made in these critical hunger-fighting programs.
- Summer EBT implementation in 2025: Texas missed out on Summer EBT in 2024, but we don’t have to miss out in 2025. Summer EBT is a new summer feeding program that will allow low-income families with children to receive additional benefits during the summer months, when childhood hunger typically spikes due to the loss of school meals. The program provides families with $120 per eligible child for the summer to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets, or other authorized retailers. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 3.75 million Texas students would be eligible to receive approximately $450 million in food aid through the program. We urge HHSC leadership to allocate the staff and IT resources to implement Summer EBT in 2025. Texas must affirm its participation by the federal deadline of January 1, 2025.
“This is the second year in a row food insecurity has increased in Texas,” Cole said. “Yet, Congress has failed to pass a Farm Bill, the state wasn’t able to implement Summer EBT for 2024 and has yet to commit to Summer EBT in 2025, and Texas has not diverted enough resources to HHSC or made significant policy changes to address the massive SNAP application backlog. We have the tools and resources to end hunger, but our vision of a hunger-free Texas can only be realized through policy change and collective action from the public, private and charitable food sectors. Food banks alone cannot end hunger.”
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Feeding Texas is a network of 20 food banks and leads a unified effort for a hunger-free Texas. Learn m
