- The USDA revealed that in 2022 there were 17 million households struggling to afford food
- Food insecurity is at its highest level since at least 2016
- Americans have complained about “meat inflation” and rising food prices that come with inflation
Hunger is on the rise in the United States, with 12.8 percent of Americans saying they will struggle to afford food in 2022 – an increase of 2.6 percent from the previous year.
Information from the The US Department of Agriculture released October 2023 shows that in 2022 there were 17 million households that struggled to put food on the table.
The increase could be linked to a huge spike in inflation after the pandemic ends, and President Joe Biden is likely to bear the brunt of the political response to the growing problem.
Americans have complained in recent years about the rising prices of various food products, such as meat, eggs and milk. Some are even calling the phenomenon “meatflation,” with the price of a ribeye steak doubling from $8.71 in November 2020 to $16.99 in November 2021.
The US Department of Agriculture revealed that by 2022, 17 million households would struggle to afford the food needed to feed their families
Food insecurity could be a major issue in President Joe Biden’s efforts for re-election in 2024, with the number of households experiencing the problem being the highest since at least 2016
Moreover, the price of a dozen eggs increased by 70 percent between February 2022 and February 2023.
According to a Gallup analysis this monthCompared to other G7 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, the US has the highest percentage of people under pressure to afford enough food for themselves and their families.
One in four Americans, according to the analysis, say they have experienced at least one situation in the past 12 months where they did not have enough money to buy the food they need.
The 2022 USDA food insecurity figures represent a high level compared to the same figures from the year 2016 – just before Donald Trump took office.
The year before, in 2021, the percentage of those who said they were struggling to afford food was 10.2 percent, or 12.8 million households. This was the lowest percentage of the population in the last two governments.
Before the COVID pandemic in 2019, only 10.5 percent of Americans said they felt food insecure year-round, and the same percentage felt this way in 2020.
There was a dip in 2018 when 14.3 million or 11.1 percent of people said they had trouble paying for food.
Before 2022, the second highest number of U.S. households with a problem purchasing food was in 2016 at 15.6 million (12.3 percent), followed by 2017 at 15 million (11.8 percent).
In recent years, Americans have complained about “meat inflation” and the rise in food prices in general, resulting in rising inflation
The USDA notes that food insecurity was much worse in households with children, single parents, and households headed by ethnic minorities.
Biden has made some efforts to address the growing food price problem, including boosting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In February, the administration announced a $1.7 billion package to fund initiatives aimed at ending hunger in the US by 2030.