America’s Hunger Crisis Is Growing. We’re Choosing to Look Away

“I can’t stand for too long a time, or I lose my balance.” This is what Rubem DaSilva, a 79-year-old retired accountant who lives alone in New York City, experiences when he tries to prepare a meal or go grocery shopping ever since his cerebral hemorrhage. His story reflects what I see every day: older Americans going hungry behind closed doors. States are sounding alarm bells that SNAP benefits will run out as soon as next week—and I can’t stop thinking about Rubem and many others in his position. And while we’re focused on the immediate crisis the government shutdown poses, we’ve already lost something far more permanent: our ability to see the next crisis coming. Last month, the Trump Administration canceled the USDA’s annual Household Food Security Report—the only national data source that measures hunger by age, disability status, and household composition. For the first time in 30 years, America will no longer track hunger nationwide. Without that data, millions of older adults like Rubem will vanish from view as the social safety net continues to collapse around them. That decision could not have come at a worse time. Beyond the imminent threat to SNAP, benefits have already been slashed in the long run by leaders in Washington. Meanwhile, inflation and new tariffs continue driving food costs higher. In New York, grocery prices have risen more than 50% over the past decade, far outpacing wages and fixed retirement income. Those in need, including older Americans, are hit hardest by these cuts. Our neighbors who are physically or cognitively impaired, homebound, and socially isolated are unable to access additional food. They can’t travel to a local food pantry to supplement what they have. On fixed incomes, every price increase means skipping a meal or cutting a prescription in half. We estimate that nearly 13 million older Americans face food insecurity. With an aging population, that number will only grow. And yet, at the very moment we need to understand the hunger crisis better, we’re eliminating our best tool for tracking it. For decades, the USDA survey has informed billions in federal funding for senior nutrition programs, including home-delivered meals and SNAP benefits for older adults. It has informed policymakers which communities are most at risk and whether federal programs are working. Without this data, those dollars will be allocated blindly or cut altogether, and we won’t know where the crisis is hitting hardest or who’s falling through the cracks. We know what’s possible when you measure hunger, because we’ve seen it work. Last year, Citymeals conducted research on food insecurity among homebound older New Yorkers. We found that 60% of our recipients surveyed still experience food insecurity despite receiving daily meals. And 65% live on less than $15,000 per year in one of the country’s most expensive cities. Some even survive on “meals” like ketchup sandwiches, because one home-delivered meal a day simply isn’t enough. The USDA survey does this at a national scale, tracking which older Americans are struggling, where they live, and whether federal programs reach them. Without this survey, policymakers are flying blind—and nonprofits like ours can’t replace that essential federal infrastructure. The Trump Administration should reverse this decision and restore the USDA Food Security Survey. Congress should ensure it remains funded and continues to track hunger. And nonprofit organizations must step up and work together in partnership with other anti-hunger organizations, older adult providers, and local and state governments to continue this invaluable research. We need to know who is hungry in our city and create ways to serve them, otherwise we’ll lose more than just statistics. We’ll abandon millions of older Americans like Rubem who cannot advocate for themselves.  For 30 years, America measured hunger, tracking who struggled and whether our programs worked. Now we’re choosing to let millions of vulnerable older Americans vanish from view. We know that data can drive solutions for every American. We just have to look.