New York Fed Report Finds Rise in Food Insecurity Through Early 2026

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report on Wednesday that documented an increase in food insecurity between late 2025 and early 2026. The findings came from the Survey of Consumer Expectations and covered households reporting skipped meals, use of food banks, reliance on SNAP benefits, or drawing down savings for groceries. 7 percent in early 2026. 1 percent over the same period.

7 percent in early 2026. 9 percent in early 2026. The report noted that food insecurity is associated with poorer health outcomes, lower educational attainment, reduced worker productivity, and lower lifetime earnings. It also recorded a contemporaneous rise in pessimism and a decline in job-finding expectations among the same demographic groups.

The report described solid economic fundamentals, including low unemployment, historically high household net wealth, and resilient consumer spending. It characterized the pattern as a "K-shaped" economy in which consumption growth has been driven largely by higher-income and college-educated households.

"While not necessarily causal, the observed positive association between food insecurity and overall consumer pessimism, together with the increase in the incidence of food insecurity, especially among households at the bottom of the K-shape, point to a potential explanation for the unusually low recent levels of consumer sentiment at a time when the hard economic data paint a more positive picture," the report stated.