by Anore Horton, executive director, Hunger Free Vermont
The recent decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cancel the Household Food Security in the United States report is unacceptable. This annual survey has, for nearly three decades, measured food insecurity across the country, and served as an important way to acknowledge and respond to the reality that the injustice of hunger impacts millions in our nation.
This abrupt announcement comes on the heels of devastating funding cuts and eligibility changes to SNAP, passed by Congressional leaders in July. SNAP, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT, helps tens of thousands of Vermonters–and millions across the U.S.--afford groceries and put food on the table. Now leadership in Washington is dismantling the tools we use to measure hunger. It seems clear that the federal administration intends to try to justify their historic funding cuts and eligibility changes to our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program by making hunger invisible. But deliberately and systematically causing hunger for millions of our family members, neighbors, and friends cannot be justified, ever.
SNAP is a proven program to lift people out of poverty, and reduce the risk of hunger. Yet, Congressional leaders passed a law to make it harder for low-income people to tap into SNAP. Among those harmful changes is eliminating eligibility for many immigrant groups, which will impact as many as 1,600 Vermonters. Further, their decision to expand existing work reporting requirements–which ignores systemic barriers in the labor market and does nothing to create good, consistent jobs or provide affordable, accessible transportation and childcare–will risk benefits for as many as 7,700 Vermonters.
Because the USDA has consistently tracked food insecurity data for decades, we know for a fact that expanding SNAP benefits, as Congress did during the COVID-19 pandemic, reduces hunger and food insecurity. And because USDA has consistently tracked food insecurity data for decades, we know that these new and drastic cuts to SNAP mean people will lose vital grocery money, be forced to make impossible choices, and fall away from food security.
More people will go hungry because of Congressional Leaders’ decision in July to slash SNAP–we all know it, and decades of data show it. Collectively, we must not permit Congressional leadership and the federal administration to avoid the consequences of their harmful policy choices by erasing a key national measurement of hunger.
For advocates and organizations that work to support Vermonters in meeting their basic needs, we know that you can’t just delete data reports to solve a problem. Partners across Vermont that support food security efforts are seeing longer lines at food shelves. We are hearing that parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat, and that immigrant community members are facing barriers that leave them experiencing increased food insecurity and isolation.
The reality of hunger doesn’t disappear when you stop measuring it. What does become more challenging is confronting these realities with data-backed decision making, and the possibility of holding policymakers accountable. Without data, we lose the ability to measure
meaningful progress, track need, and ensure policymakers have the insights they need to keep our communities healthy and strong.
We call on the USDA to change course and restore the annual Household Food Security in the United States report. And while we continue to push for accountability from the current administration, we all must demand that our state and local governments continue to protect and strengthen programs that keep food on the table for our neighbors. Hunger will not vanish by ignoring it. Vermont has always been a leader in food security, and now with federal support and accountability shrinking, we need our state to step up to ensure the best outcomes for all of us who live here.
Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, lives in Williston