Food insecurity in households with young children

Key points:

• One in every four surveyed families with children under age 6 struggles to afford food.
• Parents sacrifice their own meals to feed their children.
• Families say public food benefits like SNAP are essential to being able to feed their families.

In September 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) canceled the long-running annual Household Food Security Report, which for 30 years tracked Americans’ hunger and food access to inform policies. In the absence of that government data, RAPID continues to be an important source of information on this topic, tracking reported food security among surveyed families nationally, and sharing timely, actionable insights that can inform policies and programs.

This issue brief presents average rates of food insecurity among surveyed families with children under age 6 from August 2025 to January 2026. (Note: Stanford Center on Early Childhood issue briefs, like this one, report current RAPID national survey data on key early childhood issues for policymakers, updated twice annually.)

One in four surveyed families report food insecurity

RAPID uses a validated 6-item USDA scale to document food insecurity; parents reporting two or more items are considered food insecure. Items include:

• The food that we bought just didn’t last, and we didn’t have money to get more.
• We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.
• Did you or other adults in your household ever cut the size of your meal or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food?
• If yes, how often did this happen?
• Did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food?
• Were you ever hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food?

On average, between August 2025 and January 2026, 25% of surveyed families with young children^[1] reported two or more of these experiences. A parent in Colorado said, “The biggest concern is making sure I have enough money to keep bills paid and food on the table.” A parent in Georgia explained, “We cannot afford to buy enough fruits and vegetables for our family.”

Parents are faced with difficult choices around feeding their families

Parents said their family cut meal sizes or skipped meals entirely because money ran short, and felt hungry but didn’t eat because there wasn’t enough money for food. An Ohio parent said, “Rationing out food for the family, my kids and husband come first.” Families also cited increased grocery costs. A Nebraska parent said, “Our grocery budget is nearly gone because of how expensive everything has gotten.”

Parents rely on public food supports to feed their families

About one in seven parents use public benefits for food support: 15% of surveyed families, on average, received SNAP benefits. A parent in Minnesota noted: “EBT and WIC are helping the most. I know it’s not a lot, but I tell myself this is better than nothing.” A parent in Oregon said, “SNAP, TANF, and WIC is what’s helping my family out the most right now.”

Conclusion

Food insecurity is an ongoing challenge for many parents of young children, showing an urgent need for coordinated solutions, such as expanded SNAP and WIC programs and easier enrollment, that increase families’ access to food and nutrition in support of overall family well-being.

Sample description
This analysis on RAPID data is based on responses collected from 5,121 caregivers between August 2025 and January 2026. These caregivers represent a range of voices: 24.3% are Black, 28.1% are Latinx, and 29.5% live below 200% of the federal poverty level. We weight data to reflect the real-time makeup of U.S. families with children under age 6.

Definitions
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the system used to deliver SNAP food assistance to parents; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

^[1] USDA reported that 18% of households with children under 18 were food insecure in 2024. RAPID uses a different methodology and focuses on households with children under 6, so these reports are not directly comparable.