USDA cancelled 30-year Household Food Security Report; placed ERS researchers on leave for disclosing decision
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cancelled its annual Household Food Security Report — the federal government's primary 30-year measure of hunger and food insecurity — on September 22, 2025, and then placed approximately a dozen Economic Research Service economists, researchers, supervisors, and administrators on indefinite paid administrative leave, citing an "unauthorized disclosure." The employees placed on leave were among those present at meetings where the decision to cancel the report was discussed. The report had been used annually since 1995 by policymakers, academics, and advocates to evaluate federal nutrition programs including SNAP, WIC, and school meals.
