Children’s HealthWatch is alarmed by persistently high rates of food insecurity among U.S. households with children. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security in the United States in 2024 report, released Dec. 30, 2025, found that 18.4% of households with children experienced food insecurity at some point in 2024—meaning 14.1M children didn’t have access to enough food for an active, healthy life sometime in 2024. This reflects a near return to 2014 food insecurity levels, effectively erasing a decade of progress for families with children, including a historic low of 12.5% reached in 2021 when nutrition assistance programs were temporarily expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, food insecurity continues to disproportionately affect Black households. In 2024, food insecurity increased sharply among Black, non-Hispanic households with children (from 27.5% to 31%). Hispanic households with children saw a modest decline (from 26% to 23.8%). While food insecurity rose among white, non-Hispanic households with children (from 13.3% to 14.1%), the overall prevalence was much lower than Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic households with children, underscoring ongoing disparities between racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. These disparities indicate the pressing need for public policies that prevent race or ethnicity from determining a child’s access to food.
Decades of research, including studies by Children’s HealthWatch, show that food insecurity—even for short periods in early childhood—harms child health and development, with lasting consequences. Yet recent policy choices reflect a failure to act on this evidence. The budget reconciliation bill passed last year (HR.1) cuts nearly 20% from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s most effective defense against hunger. SNAP is proven to reduce food insecurity and protect children from avoidable health and developmental risks; SNAP benefit reductions lead to worse health outcomes for families and increased developmental risk for children.
Compounding this harm, USDA’s decision to end food insecurity data collection and reporting after the 2024 report will severely limit the ability of policymakers and the public to assess household food security, and the consequences of food and nutrition policy decisions on a national scale. It will also hinder policymakers’ ability to make targeted, evidence-based decisions.
The government must continue to track the country’s progress toward eliminating food insecurity and make sustained, equitable investments in children and families. The cost of inaction is far greater, both in increased health care costs and developmental impairments. Young children and their families cannot afford to wait.