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    Food insecurity explained: US and global hunger data in 2026

    Food insecurity means not having reliable access to enough food for an active, healthy life.[1] USDA's last annual report found 13.7% of US households, with 47.9 million people, were food insecure in 2024; USDA has ended the series.[2][3][4] Worldwide, an estimated 645 million people were chronically undernourished in 2025 and 2.1 billion faced moderate or severe food insecurity.[5][6]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated ExplainerSocial welfare, Tech policy, World affairs

    Food insecurity, chronic undernourishment and famine classifications measure different degrees of hunger.[1][5][7] This page explains each measure and the latest figures. It is general information. If you need food help now, see the guide to benefit-finder and food-assistance tools, and check eligibility rules with your state agency, because they vary.

    What food insecurity means

    USDA defines food security as having access to enough food for an active, healthy life. A household is food insecure if, at some point in the year, it could not be sure of getting enough food because it lacked money or other resources.[1] At the most severe level, very low food security, people’s normal eating patterns were disrupted and they ate less.[8]

    USDA’s Household Food Security Survey Module had 10 core questions for adults and 8 more for households with children.[1] Its annual report classified households as food secure, low food security or very low food security. In 2024, 8.3% had low and 5.4% very low food security.[8][2] CSIS points out that Census’s Household Pulse Survey asks a single food-sufficiency question, against up to 18 questions in USDA’s module.[9]

    The latest US numbers

    In 2024, 13.7% of US households (18.3 million) were food insecure at some point, statistically unchanged from 13.5% in 2023.[2] That meant 47.9 million people, including 33.8 million adults, lived in food-insecure households.[3] Food insecurity affected 18.4% of households with children. In about 0.9% of them, children themselves ate less.[10]

    Feeding America, which describes itself as the largest US hunger-relief organization, publishes its own estimates in its Map the Meal Gap study.[11] It estimates that nearly half of food-insecure people had incomes too high to qualify for SNAP in 2024.[12] It also puts the average cost of a meal at $3.70 and the national food budget shortfall at over $33 billion.[13]

    The end of USDA’s annual report

    USDA ran its food security survey every year since 1995.[14] In September 2025 it announced the end of future Household Food Security reports, calling them “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous”. The report on 2024 is the last.[4] USDA argued food insecurity had stayed virtually unchanged despite an over 87% rise in SNAP spending from 2019 to 2023, and said it would use other, more timely data.[15] The Alliance to End Hunger called the decision “deeply troubling”, and CSIS argued that the remaining federal surveys are far less detailed.[9]

    Global hunger

    The UN and FAO estimate that about 645 million people, 7.8% of the world, did not get enough calories in 2025. That is down from 8.6% in 2022.[5] Many more, about 2.1 billion people, had moderate or severe food insecurity.[6] FAO says healthy diets are out of reach financially for about 2.7 billion people.[16]

    Chronic undernourishment fell slightly below its 2015 level of 8.0% in 2025.[5] Moderate or severe food insecurity (25.8%) fell by 86 million people from 2024 but remained 527 million above 2015.[6] The UN warns that the 2026 Middle East conflict, weather extremes and cuts in aid threaten these gains.[17] For acute crises, the September 2026 Global Report on Food Crises update expects about 327,000 people in Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) during 2026, down from 1.4 million in 2025. It flags a risk of famine in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.[18]

    Famine classifications

    The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declares famine only when three thresholds are breached: extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths.[7] In August 2025 an IPC analysis confirmed famine in Gaza Governorate, the first confirmed famine in the Middle East.[19] WFP says almost 19.5 million people in Sudan face crisis levels of hunger, with multiple areas at risk of famine.[20] Follow developments in the hunger and poverty tracker, and for the federal food benefit see SNAP.

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    Questions readers ask

    How many Americans are food insecure?

    USDA estimated 13.7% of households (18.3 million) were food insecure at some point in 2024, with 47.9 million people living in those households.[2][3]

    Is USDA still publishing food insecurity data?

    No. In September 2025 USDA announced it would end its annual Household Food Security reports; the report on 2024 is the last. USDA called the reports redundant and costly.[4]

    What is very low food security?

    It is the most severe USDA category, where eating patterns are disrupted and food intake reduced. It affected 5.4% of US households (7.2 million) in 2024.[8]

    How many people go hungry worldwide?

    The UN and FAO estimate 645 million people, 7.8% of the world, were chronically undernourished in 2025, down from 8.6% in 2022.[5]

    What is a famine declaration?

    An IPC famine classification means three thresholds have been breached, for extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths. Famine was confirmed in Gaza Governorate in August 2025.[7][19]

    Sources

    · 20 claims from 9 publishers

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Tap a number in the text to see its sources in place.

    1. [1]

      USDA's survey defined food security as access to enough food for an active, healthy life, measured with 10 core questions for adults and 8 more for households with children; food-insecure households were at times unable to get enough food for all members because they lacked money or other resources. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    2. [2]

      USDA estimated that 13.7% of US households (18.3 million) were food insecure at some time during 2024, not statistically different from 13.5% in 2023. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    3. [3]

      In 2024, 47.9 million people, including 33.8 million adults, lived in food-insecure households. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    4. [4]

      In September 2025 USDA announced it would end its annual Household Food Security reports, calling them "redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous"; the report on 2024 is the last. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    5. [5]

      An estimated 645 million people, 7.8% of the world's population, were chronically undernourished in 2025, down from 8.6% in 2022 and slightly below the 2015 level of 8.0%. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    6. [6]

      About 2.1 billion people (25.8% of the world's population) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, 86 million fewer than in 2024 but 527 million more than in 2015. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    7. [7]

      An IPC famine classification means three thresholds, for extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths, have been breached. confirmedas of 2025-08-22

    8. [8]

      In 2024, 5.4% of US households (7.2 million) had very low food security, the most severe category, in which eating patterns were disrupted and food intake reduced; another 8.3% had low food security. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    9. [9]

      Critics including the Alliance to End Hunger and CSIS's Global Food and Water Security Program said ending the report removes the main national gauge of food insecurity; CSIS notes Census's Household Pulse Survey asks only one food-sufficiency question. reportedas of 2026-01-05· interpretation

    10. [10]

      Food insecurity affected 18.4% of US households with children (6.7 million) in 2024; in about 0.9% of them, children themselves had reduced food intake. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    11. [11]

      Feeding America describes itself as the largest US hunger-relief organization; its network food banks collect and sort donated food and distribute it through local food pantries and meal programs. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    12. [12]

      Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap 2026 estimates that nearly half of people experiencing food insecurity in 2024 had incomes too high to qualify for SNAP. reportedas of 2026-07-28

    13. [13]

      Feeding America estimates the national average cost per meal was $3.70 in 2024 and the national food budget shortfall exceeded $33 billion. reportedas of 2026-07-28

    14. [14]

      USDA had run the household food security survey every year since 1995. confirmedas of 2026-01-05

    15. [15]

      USDA said food insecurity had stayed virtually unchanged despite an over 87% rise in SNAP spending from 2019 to 2023, and that it would use other, more timely data sets. confirmedas of 2025-09-22

    16. [16]

      FAO's 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report says healthy diets are unaffordable for about 2.7 billion people. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    17. [17]

      The UN warns that the 2026 conflict in the Middle East, weather extremes and cuts in development and humanitarian funding threaten progress against hunger. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    18. [18]

      The September 2026 mid-year update of the Global Report on Food Crises found about 327,000 people expected to face Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) in 2026, down from 1.4 million in 2025, with a risk of famine in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, and in Gaza through April 2026. confirmedas of 2026-09-21

    19. [19]

      On 22 August 2025 an IPC analysis confirmed famine in Gaza Governorate, the first famine officially confirmed in the Middle East, with more than half a million people trapped in famine. confirmedas of 2025-08-22

    20. [20]

      WFP says almost 19.5 million people in Sudan face crisis levels of hunger, with multiple areas at risk of famine, and that it needs $579 million for operations up to October 2026. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 11, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 11, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 31, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Food insecurity explained: US and global hunger data in 2026." ContentLora, updated Oct 11, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/food-insecurity-explained

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