Arkansas finds itself the hungriest state in the country once again, according to the latest rankings by the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the release of its Household Food Security report. This marks the third consecutive year that Arkansas ranks last in the annual report conducted by the department’s Economic Research Service (ERS), based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2022-2024.
Researchers found that 19.4% of Arkansas households were considered food insecure – nearly 6% higher than the national average. Louisiana ranked as the 3rd most food insecure state, while Texas ranked 4th. The new USDA report revealed that food insecurity as a whole has steadily worsened in recent years across the country, from 12.8% in 2022 to 13.5% in 2023 and to 13.7% in 2024, which includes 14.1 million children. Despite the upswing in hunger, the USDA announced in September that this latest food insecurity report would be its last, effectively ending the 30-year program created in 1995 during the Clinton Administration.
Critics of that decision say it could not have come at a worse time considering that Congress and the Trump administration cut $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often described as the country’s most effective anti-hunger program. Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) President Crystal FitzSimons explained, “Ending the report does not end the struggle to put food on the table that nearly 48 million people in America face. It only hides it.”
Additional factors expected to further exacerbate America’s hunger crisis include the tightening of SNAP eligibility, individual states taking on more of the financial burden for the cost of the SNAP program, along with steep cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and hospital funding. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), SNAP cuts will increase poverty, food insecurity, and hunger, including among children. Food banks in the region are also expected to experience more pressure, as multiple factors are expected create a ‘perfect storm’ of surging demand this year.
