Fewer D.C.-area households can consistently put food on the table today than at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the cost of living continues to rise and federal assistance programs are scaled back, according to a new report from the Capital Area Food Bank.
The 2026 Hunger Report shows climbing rates of food insecurity across D.C. and surrounding counties, with 38% of households lacking access to enough food in 2026, compared to 33% in 2022. Food insecurity is a federal classification for people who lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
Radha Muthiah, Capital Area Food Bank’s president and CEO, said in a statement that the report “underscores the deteriorating state” of food access across the region and that recent changes in federal policy are likely to make the problem worse.
The Trump-backed Working Families Tax Cuts Act, passed in 2025 and more widely known as the “one big beautiful bill,” will reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves 400,000 people in the area, by 20% over the next decade — the largest rollback in the program’s 87-year history.
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The largest impacts of the SNAP cuts have yet to be felt, but enrollment has already declined by 13.5% nationwide as more hurdles to eligibility are put in place, the report said.
Along with a reduction in federal programming, rising inflation and fewer employment options are making it harder for some families to buy enough food. The report, compiled using a survey of 3,800 area residents, found that the majority of respondents said “unusually high food prices” have had a major affect on their finances.
Some increased pressure can be traced back to more changes at the federal level, with D.C. still recovering from deep cuts to the federal workforce compounded by the historic 43-day federal government shutdown last year.
The metro area lost 104,000 jobs in 2025, about 60,000 of which were federal, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The region lost far more jobs last year than any other major metro area.
Of local federal workers, more than half who lost their job in the past two years have yet to find reemployment. A reduction in federal grants and contracts also disrupted private employment across the region, according to the Hunger Report.
Though food insecurity is rising across the board, rates are higher among Black and Hispanic residents. Non-white households are two to three times more likely to struggle to get food, and the disparity is increasing, the report said.
At the county level, Arlington County has the lowest local food insecurity rate, at 22%. Prince George’s County has the highest rate, with 56% of households experiencing some level of food insecurity.
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