Washington stopped measuring hunger. Missouri is seeing more of it.

For more than three decades, the federal government released an annual comprehensive report on the state of hunger in America. But that ended in 2025 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would no longer produce Household Food Security reports.

While the report has disappeared, hunger clearly hasn’t. In fact, it appears to be getting dramatically worse as people lose food assistance and face mounting economic strains.

At Operation Food Search, which works with hundreds of partners to provide food and services to people in need in 24 Missouri and Illinois counties, we have seen a striking increase in the number of individuals seeking food assistance.

From the end of October to the end of June, visits to our reduced-price mobile farmers markets more than doubled over the same period the previous year – going from 7,431 visits to a whopping 18,973, a 155% increase

More recently, the number of clicks on our website’s “Find Food” page is 17% higher this summer than it was in the spring.

We believe several factors may be contributing to the increased demand for food assistance, including stagnating wages and increasing costs of food, gasoline, utilities, housing, and health care. Gas prices are up 37%, and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices have risen more than 40% over the past decade.

The federal bill H.R.1, otherwise known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that passed in 2025 included changes to SNAP eligibility and work requirements that are projected to reduce or eliminate benefits for some recipients nationwide. In Missouri, as of September 24, over 40,000 people have lost food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which now requires “able-bodied” participants to document at least 80 hours a month of work or training.

And the amount of difficult paperwork for SNAP enrollees is about to increase even more. In an Aug. 31 announcement, the Missouri Department of Social Services said it will begin requiring documented proof of housing costs, such as rent, utilities, childcare expenses, and bank account information as part of recertification.

A year ago, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture cancelled its annual Household Food Security Report, it said that “trends in the prevalence of food insecurity have remained virtually unchanged” and that the report had become “politicized” and was “rife with inaccuracies.”

This survey has long been used as the gold standard for researchers, policymakers, service providers, and anti-hunger organizations like Operation Food Search, to show us the greatest areas of need, guide effective solutions, and help us mobilize support.

Imagine trying to treat a serious illness without the scans and tests to tell you where in the body it is, whether the treatments are working, and what changes are needed. The prevalence of food security does, in fact, change significantly, as it did during the Great Recession in 2008 and during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A shift in just a few percentage points can mean thousands of local households are struggling to find their next meal.

While the loss of the annual hunger report may hide data on the fallout of severe SNAP cuts and rising prices, it’s clear we have a growing hunger problem. At OFS, more people are coming to us for help, and we are working hard to purchase, transport, and distribute additional food to meet that need.

But the charitable food system was designed to supplement the safety net, not replace it. Without reliable, consistent data, it becomes harder to see where the gaps are, how large they are and whether the solutions are working. Less information does not mean less hunger.