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  "path": "/partner/more-americans-are-going-hungry",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-28T09:52:12.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nMore Americans are experiencing food insecurity in 2026 than during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on Wednesday.\n\nA survey of around 1,200 US household heads, conducted in February, measured whether families had skipped meals, dipped into savings, relied on food donations, or received government aid to buy food.\n\n#### How many Americans are going hungry right now?\n\nTen percent of US households reported not having enough food or having children miss meals in February 2026, compared with four percent in June 2020. More than 15 percent said they had received food donations, up from 10.6 percent.\n\nThe New York Fed described the rise as a \"remarkable increase in food insecurity,\" hitting lower-income, lower-educated households and families with young children hardest.\n\n#### Why are so many people in the US facing food insecurity?\n\nConsumer finances have come under sustained pressure, with more than one third of households telling the Fed they had dipped into savings to cover basic expenses in February. That compares with 21.8 percent in June 2020, the month when Americans receiving unemployment benefits peaked at more than 33 million.\n\nThe New York Fed said consumers were \"pessimistic about their own financial circumstances and outlook.\"\n\n#### How does this compare to the Covid-19 pandemic peak?\n\nDuring the pandemic, the global economy was rattled by shutdowns, empty store shelves, and broad price surges across consumer goods. Federal and state policy responses helped limit the damage to household finances at the time.\n\nFood insecurity levels now exceed those recorded in June 2020, despite no comparable disruption on the scale of nationwide Covid lockdowns.\n\n#### What role has grocery inflation played?\n\nThe February survey was conducted before the Iran war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on February 28 and pushed US grocery prices to their highest rate since 2023.\n\nThe food insecurity figures in the survey therefore reflect conditions before that additional cost pressure took effect. The full impact of rising grocery prices on American households is likely to appear in subsequent data.\n\n",
  "title": "More Americans are going hungry now than at the height of Covid, New York Fed finds"
}