Inflation’s Impact on Food Insecurity in America

Food insecurity in America is starting to bump up against expiring pandemic relief. Source for photo: MarketWatch

Inflation in America has grown to alarming levels. In January of 2023, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households, was 6.4% – which is 0.2% larger than the CPI value that the Federal Reserve expected; for context the CPI was only up by 0.6% in January of 2022 . This high inflation disproportionately harms poorer Americans, causing their dollars to have less purchasing power when it comes to basic needs such as groceries, housing and gas. Especially when looking at how rapidly food and grocery prices are rising, this issue may be exacerbating another one that typically plagues lower-income Americans at greater levels: food insecurity. 

When looking at whom inflation hurts most, Black, Hispanic and middle-income households are hurt most by soaring prices. This is due to a majority of their spending being used on transportation, which jumped as the used-car market and gas prices rose sharply. 

Inflation has fallen recently, given that it was higher last November (7.1%) and December (6.5%) than the January CPI. Even as inflation falls, lower-income Americans, especially those using food stamps and other nutrition assurance programs, are still being hit hard by food insecurity. Recently, food insecurity experts criticized President Biden for not giving the topic of food insecurity and the inflation exacerbating it more airtime during his State of the Union Address. While Biden did address inflation at times during his speech, the main focuses were looming concerns for economic uncertainties, the debt ceiling and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“Inflation has been a global problem because of the pandemic that disrupted supply chains and Putin’s war that disrupted energy and food supplies. But we’re better positioned than any country on Earth. We have more to do, but here at home, inflation is coming down,” said President Biden in his State of the Union speech. “Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 a gallon since their peak. Food inflation is coming down. Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months while take home pay has gone up.”

One thing that particularly concerns advocates is that according to a survey by Provider, an app for SNAP users, more American who use food stamps reported skipping meals, eating less and going to food banks to manage costs last month. 29.2% of people surveyed said they have skipped meals, up 3 percentage points on the prior month, a fifth said they rely on family and friends to sustain themselves – up 9 percentage points from December – and nearly a third said they have eaten less to manage food costs, up 2 percentage points from December. 

“Food insecurity is one of the factors accounted for when measuring basic needs. Basic needs include access to nutritious and sufficient food; safe, secure, and adequate housing; access to mental and physical healthcare; affordable technology and transportation; resources for personal hygiene; and childcare and related needs,” said Natalia Rivadeneyra, the assistant director of advocacy at Nazun, an organization focused on ending hunger and food insecurity on college campuses. 

Rivadeneyra’s statement reflects the views of many activists who argue that food insecurity must receive its due when other issues that could be solved by an expansion of the social safety net are discussed. 

What concerns advocates and experts the most is that the expansion of SNAP benefits ended on February 28th. The expansion of SNAP benefits, tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowed SNAP recipients to receive either $95 in additional benefits each month or the maximum benefit for their household size, whichever value is greater, according to the Department of Agriculture. This expansion, not the program as a whole, is what expired on February 28th. 

With 15 states already having ended these benefits prematurely, the effects could be catastrophic. Curtailing SNAP benefits could possibly worsen food insecurity to a level not seen since the height of the pandemic when combined with raging inflation, given the increased level of SNAP benefits that could have helped to greatly mitigate inflation’s impact on food insecurity.