Food insecurity is increasing in Massachusetts, according to a new study from Mass General Brigham and the Greater Boston Food Bank. The survey found that in 2024, one in three households in the state could not count on their next meal, an increase of 34% over the prior year.
The fifth annual food access study found even higher rates of food insecurity — one in two households — in Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Bristol and Suffolk counties. The survey also found Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ+ people experience food insecurity at higher rates than other groups.
“These families are forced to choose between paying their rent and buying groceries. Older adults are skipping meals to afford medications, children foregoing their medical attention or missing school,” said Catherine D’Amato, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Food Bank. “This report also estimates that food insecurity among Medicaid patients contributes to as much as $1.3 billion in annual health care costs.”
According to the study, 37% of Massachusetts households faced food insecurity this year. The findings also indicate that 24% of people experienced very low food security, where a person must skip meals or not eat for the entire day due to a lack of sufficient funds for food.
U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern attended a news conference at the MGH Revere Food Pantry to discuss the findings. The Democratic delegation all remarked how the current federal budget being pushed by Republicans is an attack on programs that help families facing hunger.
“If passed, Massachusetts would lose hundreds of millions of dollars worth of SNAP benefits,” said Pressley. “This is an existential threat to the more than 187,000 people in my district who receive food stamps. And that is why my colleagues and I are fighting like hell.”
McGovern said the Trump administration’s budget cut policies have turned into setbacks.
“We saw a tremendous acceleration of anti-hunger and food is medicine work,” explained McGovern. “New partnerships formed, new models were created and replicated, and much of that work, I’m sad to say, came to a screeching halt when this new administration took office.”
“Massachusetts may be doing all the right things, but without proper funding, benefits like SNAP and WIC are simply not enough to keep families fed, and many of them continue to make significant tradeoffs to put food on the table,” D’Amato said. “As a state, we can fix this. We have the power to solve hunger here in Massachusetts.”
For the last five years, the Greater Boston Food Bank has studied the impact of food insecurity and barriers to accessing food assistance programs. The nonprofit is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and one of the largest food banks in the country.
