Nearly 1 in 5 Texans experiences food insecurity — and that rate is continuing to rise.
That's according to a new study by Feeding America, a national network of food banks. The study examines hunger at a county by county level.
Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the state's food bank network, joined Texas Standard to discuss. Listen to the interview in the player above or read the transcript below.
Texas Standard: The latest Map the Meal Gap study, which is published each year, found Texas has the largest number of residents experiencing food insecurity — and not just the raw number, but the rate is increasing.
Am I getting that right? And how many people are we talking about here?
Celia Cole: Yeah, you've got it right. So nearly 1 in 5 Texans — and that's over six million people in our state — are now food insecure. And so that is the largest food-insecure population anywhere in the country.
And it has increased. It's up from one in six Texans last year. So the trend is definitely moving in the wrong direction. And it touches every part of the state and every demographic.
Food insecurity is not confined to an area or type of person. And so we have a very high rate of kids facing food insecurity. 1 in 4 Texas kids don't have reliable access to food. That's up from 1 in 5 last year.
And then 1 in 7 Texas seniors are food insecure, also rising. So those are vulnerable populations for whom food insecurity can really have lasting consequences.
Let's talk about that term, "food insecurity." How do hunger experts define it?
Yeah, it's really just not being able to afford food on a reliable basis. So like not having consistent access to the food you need to survive and thrive. And it's typically connected to food resources — not having enough income or other resources to consistently afford food.
And then I think in more rural areas of the state, and even in some in urban areas where there aren't affordable places to get nutritious food, people may be relying on convenience stores or Dollar Generals. That is not in itself a food insecurity, but it can be a contributor to.
It's just simply not having the money or the ability to get somewhere to buy healthy food.
Well, you mentioned this really is affecting Texans of all demographics — children and seniors affected, and also, I understand, Black Texans are experiencing higher rates of food insecurity. Can you talk about those findings?
Yeah, it definitely disproportionately affects communities of color. And again, I think that is related to just income disparities between people of communities of color and white communities, because it is so much driven by income and the resources that families have to afford food.
And we saw that really particularly pronounced during the pandemic, I think, those racial disparities. And so we're really focused as food banks on figuring out like where are the areas of greatest need and how do we fill in the gaps when people don't qualify for programs like SNAP.
Well, SNAP has been in the headlines recently for not meeting enough needs. And I understand this data from this study is even older than that. It dates back from 2024.
I guess what are your observations from your work about how things have continued to change for Texans facing food insecurity?
Yeah, it wasn't surprising to see the numbers from 2024. And I think if we had real-time data today, the numbers might be even higher because we are seeing more people show up in our lines, people having deeper need, needing more food when they do show up or showing up more frequently.
And I that's directly related to high food prices and high fuel prices that's just really kind of stretching families' budgets to the limit.
And then at the same time, what you've seen in the past year is a loss of over 500,000 Texans on SNAP, which is the exact opposite of what you would normally see at a time when food insecurity is so high and food prices are so high.
And what we're seeing in our lines, people showing up two hours before a food distribution to line up for food. That picture and the data aren't consistent with what's happening with SNAP enrollment. That's directly tied to changes that were made in HR1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from last year that reduced eligibility for certain populations and then put in place stricter work requirements for other populations, including older adults and more families with children.
And when you sort of break down the decline demographically, it is those populations where we're seeing steeper decline. So our concern is people are not leaving the program because they found work or they're no longer food insecure, but they are just struggling to stay connected to food assistance when they still need it.
So what are you seeing and hearing at your food banks all across Texas?
People are confused about the new requirements, struggling to figure out how to meet them, concerned they may not be eligible when they are. And then I do think there's also kind of that chill factor that the immigrant community is facing, where even if a family member is eligible for SNAP, there's concern that it'll affect their ability to become a green card holder or could get them deported.
So I think we're definitely seeing fewer, what we call sort of mixed-status families — where there may be citizens and there may be legal immigrants or maybe someone undocumented — kind of just afraid to apply for programs like SNAP or enroll in school meal programs and then maybe also afraid to show up for charitable food assistance because they're worried about ICE enforcement.
So it's just a lot of uncertainty and fear, concern… Am I going to be able to put food on the table? Am I going to be able to keep SNAP benefits?
And then of course, the same kind of high food and fuel prices that are making it harder for Texans to make ends meet are also straining food bank resources. It's costing us more money to get food in and out the door. And federal resources for food have gone down as well. So I think everyone's feeling the strain right now.
As we gear up for another Texas legislative session, what do you need from lawmakers?
Well, the big change that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made to SNAP is… For 60-plus years, the benefits have been 100% federally funded. And that's critical to make sure the program can grow when need increases. And what HR1 did was say to states, if you don't hit new payment accuracy targets, then you're gonna have to pick up a share of those benefits.
And so if you look at Texas' error rate right now, which is what the cost share is tied to, it's well above the new threshold. It's a little over 9% and states need to get to 6% this fiscal year. That means we will be on the hook for over $700 million a year starting in fiscal 2028.
And so the next Legislature would have to budget for that and this is a program they've never had to pay for before. So we're very concerned about the strain that could put on state budget when there are lots of other needs out there.
And so what we're really focusing on right now, between now and the legislative session, is pushing Congress to delay that cost-share requirement to sort of provide an extension for two more years to give to state Texas and other states time to improve their payment accuracy so that families don't get cut off from food assistance. And this is an extension that already was granted in HR1 to states with really high error rates.
So all we're pushing for is a level playing field, reasonable timeframes for states to get to that new target so that we're not inadvertently punishing eligible families.
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