The State of Food Insecurity

Regional Household Food Insecurity Map

Unfortunately, households with child-level food insecurity were also on the rise this past year, up to 37%, compared to last year when there was a slight decrease to 33%. However, very low food security among children—when a child must skip meals or not eat for the whole day due to insufficient food—has stabilized.

These trends reflect the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing affordability crisis—particularly the rising costs for food, housing, and utilities—and two distinct shifts in public nutrition policy: first, the expiration of pandemic-era increases and flexibilities to food and nutrition assistance programs, and second,^1,2 the recent changes to SNAP eligibility enacted in 2025.³

Household and Child-Level Food Insecurity

Demographics of Household Food Insecurity

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To better understand how families experience hunger and interact with food and nutrition assistance programs, Second Harvest Heartland, a member of the Feeding America network, first developed what is now called The Hunger Continuum. It is a framework that captures not only whether households are experiencing food security or insecurity, but how effectively available supports meet their needs over time.

Where Massachusets Households Fall on the Continuum

Food insecurity is not a static condition. In 2025, more than half of households (52%) in Massachusetts were either experiencing food insecurity or may have used a food and nutrition assistance program (including SNAP, WIC, MassHealth Nutrition Supports, or charitable food and nutrition programs). Since school meals are accessible to everyone, they were not included in the Hunger Continuum measurement. This finding reinforces that food security fluctuates as households respond to rising costs, changing income, and shifting access to various food and nutrition assistance programs.

30% of households may have experienced food insecurity despite receiving food and nutrition assistance, demonstrating that while these programs are essential, benefit levels and funding are often insufficient to move families to food security. At the same time, 12% of households may have been experiencing food security with the help of food and nutrition assistance programs, underscoring the critical role these programs play in helping families meet their food needs.

In contrast, only 10% of households experienced food insecurity without receiving any food or nutrition assistance. This relatively small share highlights Massachusetts’s strong outreach, infrastructure, and access to food and nutrition assistance programs. Together, these patterns show that the Commonwealth has built an effective system for connecting families to support—but that strengthening and fully funding these programs is essential to ensure that access translates into lasting food security.