A new report indicates that food insecurity is becoming “more severe” across the broader Washington, D.C., area, partly attributable to the Trump Administration’s actions to reduce federal funding and employment. 

The Capital Area Food Bank’s annual hunger report, which analyzed data from nearly 4,000 residents in D.C. and the surrounding areas, identifies “the significant restructuring of government and its financial flows” as creating “far-reaching and extensive” economic repercussions. These impacts are described as offsetting the reductions in unemployment and robust GDP observed after the pandemic. 

The report indicates that over 820,000 individuals in the DMV area are currently experiencing food insecurity, an annual increase of nearly 75,000 people since 2022. LaMonika Jones, director of state initiatives at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit dedicated to hunger reduction, commented, “We are nearly back to the conditions we faced during the pandemic.” She added, “While we had achieved significant progress in reducing food insecurity, hunger, and the underlying causes of poverty, much of that positive change has been reversed in a matter of months.” 

During the pandemic, numerous government programs, including the American Rescue Plan Act, channeled billions of dollars into social initiatives to expand aid as many families confronted unemployment or reduced work hours and struggled financially. Consequently, food insecurity reached its lowest point in decades in 2021, but has since increased following the termination of these temporary support measures.  

President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has led to additional cuts in social spending: The legislation slashes over $180 billion from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding by 2035, impacting the approximately 41.7 million Americans who regularly received SNAP benefits. 

Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture announced on Saturday the discontinuation of its annual food security survey. This action is anticipated to hinder the tracking of nationwide food security trends. The agency labeled the report, which had been conducted for three decades, as “politicized” and “redundant,” alleging its sole purpose was to “fear monger.”  

Simultaneously, unemployment in the D.C. area has increased as the Trump Administration has implemented widespread layoffs of federal employees. Federal employment has seen a reduction of 97,000 positions since January, pushing D.C.’s unemployment rate to 6%, which is above the national average of 4.2%. 

The hunger report revealed that as of May 2025, 41% of D.C. area households, directly or indirectly tied to federal government employment and experiencing a job loss, reported food insecurity. This figure is more than double the food insecurity rate for households not affected by unemployment. Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of these affected households indicated experiencing “very low food security.” 

The report also identifies other widespread factors contributing to the nationwide increase in food insecurity. Everyday American families have been impacted by high inflation, a rising cost of living, sluggish wage growth, and “limited access to opportunity.” The cost of goods and services is approximately 20% higher than it was five years ago, while household income rates have failed to keep pace with this increase. 

The report indicates that these overarching economic challenges are more keenly felt by residents of the D.C. area, where 40% of adults reported a decrease in household finances. Households with an average income of $98,000 in 2024 reported very low food security subsequent to the Trump Administration’s federal spending cuts this year. Over half of individuals laid off within the last year expressed low to no confidence in their ability to secure new employment.   

Jones highlights the critical need to reinforce the wider support systems upon which individuals depend daily. She stated, “[We must] bolster all the social determinants of health that empower a person to manage their well-being as they see fit: including economic stability, transportation, accessible health care, affordable housing, and child care.”

She further noted, “That also covers supply chain disruptions and rising costs when grocery shopping. Issues arise when we fail to address the specific complexities present within a community or region, or when we choose not to truly comprehend and tackle the actual challenge.”