Trump Administration Cancels US Food Insecurity Survey

The Trump administration announced on Saturday that it would discontinue the annual US food insecurity survey, citing concerns that it had become “overly politicised.” This marks the latest in a series of measures critics say undermine government data collection.

In a statement to AFP, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said: “Following continuous review of programs and economic reporting, the USDA will discontinue future Household Food Security Reports.”

The agency explained that the survey had become politically charged and was deemed unnecessary for the Department’s ongoing work.

“The report became overly politicised and, upon subsequent review, is unnecessary to carry out the work of the Department,” the statement read.

The cancellation comes amid major reforms to the US food assistance programme, SNAP, passed this year by President Trump and Congressional Republicans. Independent analysts warn these reforms could result in millions losing access to benefits.

The most recent survey, from 2023, found that 13.5% of US households faced food insecurity, the highest rate recorded since 2014.

The USDA also criticised the survey’s methodology: “The questions used to collect the data are entirely subjective and do not present an accurate picture of actual food security. The data is rife with inaccuracies slanted to create a narrative that is not representative of what is actually happening in the countryside as we are currently experiencing lower poverty rates, increasing wages, and job growth under the Trump Administration.”

It remains unclear whether this statement refers to hunger data collected in 2023, which would not be released until 2026.

Despite USDA claims, US economic data shows slowing growth and a tightening labour market this year. President Trump has repeatedly dismissed these statistics as inaccurate.

In a related move, he dismissed the head of the Labour Department’s statistics bureau and has nominated E.J. Antoni, a conservative economist whose commentary consistently supports the Republican president, to fill the role.

Summary Table: Key Facts

The decision to cancel the survey highlights growing tensions over federal dat