Overview
- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published an analysis on May 27 using its February 2026 Survey of Consumer Expectations that shows the share of households reporting they didn’t have enough food rose to 10% from 4% in June 2020.
- The survey found bigger increases in need for food donations and SNAP benefits and more households dipping into savings to cover expenses, with SNAP receipt rising to about 17.9% and food-donation reliance to about 15.8%.
- The worsening is concentrated among lower-income and lower-educated households and families with young children, groups that also reported growing pessimism about their finances and a sharp decline in job-finding expectations.
- Researchers link the trend to the end of pandemic-era supports and recent policy changes tightening SNAP work requirements, and note that a late-February rise in fuel prices after the Middle East hostilities likely made affordability worse after the survey period.
- Food banks report long lines and expanding demand, a sign the survey’s national trend is hitting communities now and that rising food stress could further lower consumer sentiment and harm health, school performance, and household financial stability.