Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, using data collected from the Survey on Consumer Expectations, found that more Americans dipped into savings to get by, did not have enough meals, received food donations, or received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) government assistance during February 2026 than during June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led the New York Fed to declare that there has been a “remarkable increase” in food insecurity.
The Fed’s survey found that for all families, 10% reported missing meals for lack of food in the home (often, because the family was unable to afford it), and nearly 16%, or one in six, relied on food donations. This is already remarkable, in the “hottest economy in the world,” as mentally disconnected President Donald Trump likes to say. But, among families earning less than $50,000 per year, nearly 20% were forced to skip meals or go without.
The study also found that nearly 40% of all families are having to “dip into savings” to survive, while more than 45% of families that either have children or are non-white have to dip into savings.