New 4,000-person general population survey also shows that 41% of people impacted by cuts to federal jobs and spending are already experiencing food insecurity.
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Washington, DC, September 25, 2025 – Rates of hunger in the greater Washington region remain extremely elevated and are deepening in severity, according to a report issued today by the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) on food insecurity across the region.
The new report found 36% of respondents struggled to access enough food or the types of food needed at some point between May 2024 and May 2025. That’s nearly unchanged from 37% in 2024, and up from 32% in 2023. The new findings mean that 1.5 million people in the region faced uncertainty about putting food on their table.
Particularly troubling is the finding that very low food security has continued to worsen, now affecting 820,000 adults in the DMV. People in this category are consuming less food – for example, skipping meals or eating smaller portions. This category has grown to 22% of the population, up from 16% in 2022, reflecting an increase of about 75,000 people in each of the past three years.
Key drivers of food insecurity in the DMV include levels of wage growth that continue to lag inflation, as well as the reductions in federal jobs and spending. Among households impacted by the federal cuts, the data found that 41% are now facing food insecurity and over half have low or no confidence in finding another job that pays similar wages.
“No one should have to worry about whether they’ll be able to put food on the table tomorrow, but that very concern is weighing on the minds of far too many of our neighbors,” said Radha Muthiah, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “This year’s Hunger Report illuminates the growing severity of a regional food insecurity problem that could have generational impacts, and underscores the need for coordinated, informed action across every sector to help all people get the food they need to thrive today and into the future.
Hunger Report 2025 is the sixth such study issued by the CAFB, and for the fourth consecutive year, the data informing the report was gathered in partnership with highly trusted independent social research organization NORC at the University of Chicago.
Data Highlights
The survey data highlights who is most affected by food insecurity across the region, including key drivers behind the elevated rates. Among the top takeaways:
Food Insecurity is still widespread.
- At the county level, food insecurity remained similarly high. Rates ranged from 22% of residents in Arlington, VA to 49% of the residents of Prince George’s County, MD.
Key drivers of higher food insecurity rates over the past year include lagging wage growth compared to inflation, and the reductions in federal jobs and spending.
- Since May 2020, regional prices (CPI) have risen 21%, but wages have grown only 6% cumulatively, reducing household purchasing power.
- Approximately 29,000 federal workers and contractors have been impacted by the reductions in jobs and spending as of the survey fielding in May. Among the 41% of federally impacted households experiencing food insecurity, over two-thirds reported “very low food security.”
- The end of payments to many federal workers at the close of the fiscal year stands to further increase the number of individuals facing food insecurity.
The problems of food insecurity and financial instability in our region are being exacerbated by cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
- 50,000 families in the DMV are estimated to be impacted by the SNAP cuts in the budget reconciliation law, according to a custom Urban Institute analysis for the Capital Area Food Bank.
- At the same time, 116,000 people in the region are expected to lose Medicaid coverage.
- The cuts threaten food access and health care, leaving households with fewer resources for basic needs.
People experiencing food insecurity face difficult choices and trade-offs.
- People facing food insecurity are turning to a range of financial coping mechanisms, such as using savings to pay for everyday bills (83%), making minimum payments on credit cards or loans (70%), or no longer saving for retirement (63%).
- Over half of low-income households (51%) have reported having to choose between food and transportation, with 43% choosing between food and utilities, 42% choosing between food and housing and 40% choosing between food and medicine.
- Among those who reported they sometimes or often ran out of food before they had money to buy more, more than half (61%) said they ate less than they felt like they should; 47% said they did not eat when hungry; and 34% had to cut the size of their kids meals.
About the Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for more than a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, the food bank provided nearly 64 million meals to people in need last year by supplying food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. It also works in partnership with organizations across the region to address hunger’s root causes by pairing food with critical services such as education, health care, and job training. To learn more, visit https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org.