Shutdown risks food aid for millions as USDA halts hunger survey
The U.S. government shutdown, now in its second week, endangers food benefits for nearly 7 million women and children reliant on the WIC program. Compounding the crisis, the Department of Agriculture recently terminated the nation's key survey on food insecurity. Experts warn this move obscures rising hunger amid economic pressures.
The federal government shutdown began stretching into its second week as of October 10, 2025, amid a funding impasse between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Nutrition experts highlight the vulnerability of women and children depending on federal food assistance, with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at immediate risk. The National WIC Association has warned that the program could run out of money within days if the shutdown persists. The USDA informed state agencies last week that they would not receive their quarterly WIC allocation due to the funding lapse, according to CNN.
Shortly before the shutdown, on September 20, the USDA announced the termination of the Household Food Security Report, the primary national tool for tracking food insecurity. The agency described the survey as “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous,” claiming it does “nothing more than fear monger.” This decision followed the placement of about a dozen Economic Research Service staffers on administrative leave. The survey, mandated by Congress in 1990, has provided annual data from roughly 30,000 households on economic status, food access, and assistance participation.
The 2023 report revealed that 13.5 percent of U.S. households, or 47.4 million people, faced food insecurity, including nearly 14 million children—a 3.2 percent increase for children from the prior year. “I think that it is on the same level as the unemployment rate and the poverty rate. It’s one of those central measures,” said Colleen Heflin, a Syracuse University professor researching food insecurity.
In response to the WIC shortfall, the White House stated on Tuesday it would use revenue from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to fund the program. “While Democrats continue to vote to prolong the government shutdown, blocking funding for mothers and babies who rely on Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), USDA will utilize tariff revenue to fund WIC for the foreseeable future,” a USDA spokesperson told Grist. However, Mitch Jones of Food & Water Watch called the plan “likely impossible” without congressional approval. The nonprofit identified Puerto Rico, California, and New York as areas with the highest proportions of at-risk children. “It is poor women and children who will feel the impacts first and worst,” Jones said.
Experts like Zia Mehrabi of the University of Colorado Boulder criticized the survey's end amid rising food prices, up 29 percent since 2020, and cuts from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which reduced SNAP funding by $186 billion and tightened work requirements. “If you want a functioning country where people are food-secure, this is the survey that gives you an indication of how food-secure people are. And that data shows us that food insecurity has gone up,” Mehrabi said. Heflin warned the loss creates a “huge hole” in understanding hunger, likening it to “driving without your speedometer.” Jenique Jones of WhyHunger added, “Removing this data specifically — it silences the reality of hunger in America.”