The United States in a social and political mess. Food poverty on the rise.

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By derimot*no - Terje Sørensen and the KI friend - July 16, 2025

Over the past four years, food insecurity in the United States has nearly doubled. This is happening in what is still the world’s largest economy – and paradoxically, in the midst of a period when stock markets are breaking records and key figures point to economic strength.

Behind the facade lies a deep and growing crisis for millions of Americans.

Massive cuts in federal aid

At the heart of the development are the major cuts to the federal food assistance program SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The recently passed “Big, Beautiful Bill,” promoted by President Donald Trump and his majority in Congress, reduces the SNAP budget by a whopping $230 billion over the next decade. The measure tightens work requirements, expands eligibility to people up to age 64, and limits exemptions for parents. At the same time, many states are being forced to take on greater responsibility for funding – something many are ill-equipped to do.

As early as May 2025, 15.6% of American adults were classified as food insecure – up from less than 8% in 2021. This represents not just statistics, but millions of people who often or regularly don't know where their next meal is going to come from.

A social and economic paradox

It's hard to escape the irony of this development. The stock market is rising, and headlines about record highs in the Nasdaq and rising GDP dominate the economy columns. But at the same time, food lines are growing, and food banks are reporting capacity overruns. The Share Food Program in Philadelphia reports a 120% increase in demand in just three years.

John Leer, chief economist at the research firm Morning Consult, points to the deeply worrying divide between "Wall Street and Main Street": while investors are making money, more and more Americans are being marginalized.

Structure or ideology?

The Republican narrative behind the new SNAP cuts is well-known: The working-age population must not become dependent on the state; assistance must be temporary and targeted; responsibility must lie with the individual. But at the same time, we know from both research and practice that increased work requirements and reduced support in practice mean that many people drop out – not in – of the system.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the new requirements could cut SNAP benefits for 3.2 million people in an average month. That’s no small feat. And it’s happening at a time when inflation and higher food prices are putting pressure on everyone, but especially the poorest.

A silent humanitarian crisis

The United States does not have a tradition of universal welfare in the European sense. But the pandemic temporarily led to more generous support policies, both through expanded SNAP benefits and child tax credits. This helped to dramatically reduce child poverty and food insecurity. Now, this trend is being rapidly reversed.

In practice, this means that food banks, church organizations, and volunteers must fill the void. But as Axios and several media outlets have pointed out: the organizations are already stretched thin. When public cuts meet private resource shortages, a silent humanitarian crisis is emerging – in the middle of the wealthy United States.

Welfare as an ideological battlefield

This development is not just a result of economic priorities, but of political and ideological choices. Instead of recognizing food insecurity as a societal problem – and food as a human right – subsidies are portrayed as a burden on taxpayers and an incentive for laziness.

The result is a society where millions must struggle for basic needs – at a time when the nation's total wealth is growing. The gap between poor and rich, between stock portfolios and empty refrigerators, is widening – and most media and politicians seem unwilling to acknowledge the scale and seriousness of the situation.

Conclusion: A nation in moral imbalance

The United States today faces a fundamental moral question: What is the value of having the world's largest economy if millions of its citizens cannot afford to eat?
Food poverty is not just an expression of economic inequality – it is an expression of society's value system. When the state fails its weakest, it is not just the hungry who lose – it is the very democratic social contract that is eroded.

Reference list

  1. Morning Consult (2025)
    US Food Insecurity Nearly Doubled Since 2021.
    Retrieved from: https://morningconsult.com
  2. Axios (2025)
    Food insecurity soars in US amid benefit cuts.
    Retrieved from: https://www.axios.com
  3. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) (2025)
    Cost Estimate for HR – Budget Reconciliation Bill (“Big, Beautiful Bill”).
    Retrieved from: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
  4. Share Food Program (Philadelphia) – Annual Report 2024
    Rising Demand & Shrinking Support: Hunger Trends Post-Pandemic.
    Retrieved from: https://sharefoodprogram.org
  5. USDA – United States Department of Agriculture (2025)
    Household Food Security in the United States in 2024 – Preliminary Report.
    Retrieved from: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/
  6. Brookings Institution (2024)
    SNAP, Child Poverty, and the Impact of Pandemic-Era Benefits.
    Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu
  7. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) (2025)
    New SNAP Work Requirements Could Harm Millions.
    Retrieved from: https://www.cbpp.org

The text represents the author's opinion, not necessarily that of www.derimot.no.