Nearly four in 10 D.C. households went without enough food over the past year, the worst rate in five years.

The Capital Area Food Bank's 2026 Hunger Report, released Tuesday, Sept. 15, found that 39% of District households experienced food insecurity. Across the greater Washington region, the rate hit 38%, up from 36% the year before and 33% in 2022. The regional figure is higher than at the height of the pandemic, according to the report.

The numbers alarmed local leaders. Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of Capital Area Food Bank, called the findings serious and said she is struck by how thin a margin many families have as the cost of living climbs, The 51st reported. Some food-insecure households earn twice or three times the poverty level, she said, even with members working multiple jobs.

The survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, ranked D.C. third among seven jurisdictions. Prince George's County, Maryland, led at 56%, followed by Prince William County, Virginia, at 47%.

Very low food security, the most severe level, now affects 22% of regional households. For the first time since the survey began in 2022, fewer than half of area households said they were confident they could consistently get the food they need.

Federal layoffs and SNAP cuts compound the squeeze

The D.C. metro area lost 104,000 jobs between January 2025 and January 2026, more than any other major metro in the country, the report found. Federal employment accounted for over 13% of District residents' jobs as of March 2025, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Those job losses arrived alongside major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in 2025, expanded work requirements so that many recipients must prove they are working at least 80 hours a month or volunteering in an approved program. The law also shifted more of SNAP's operating costs to states.

Nationally, SNAP participation fell by roughly 5 million people, or 12%, between the law's July 2025 enactment and May 2026, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute estimates 1,200 District residents could lose benefits by October under the new rules, The 51st reported.

Some 141,000 D.C. residents are on SNAP. The average monthly benefit for a D.C. household was $318 as of October 2025.

Calls for help are rising

LaMonika Jones, director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, said her organization saw a roughly 10% increase in calls from residents seeking help applying for SNAP over the summer. She described one caller, a furloughed federal worker and new mother who had never applied for SNAP before, who called in tears asking for help.

The squeeze is not limited to low-income households. Middle-income families, defined in the report as those earning between $92,000 and $183,000, now make up 17% of the region's food-insecure population. Consumer prices have outpaced average weekly earnings in the D.C. metro area, the report noted.

Velle Perkins, a 53-year-old Ward 1 resident, has long relied on food banks including Bread for the City and Martha's Table and shops at discount grocers like Walmart, Lidl and Dollar Tree. She stopped working last month because of a health condition. "Every day, I don't know what I'm gonna have to pick and choose," Perkins told The 51st.

City budget adds uncertainty

Mayor Muriel Bowser's FY2027 budget proposal, released in April, included cuts to safety-net programs including childcare subsidies, paid family leave and the D.C. Food Policy Council. Tazra Mitchell, chief policy and strategy officer at D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, called the proposal the deepest cut to the local safety net in a generation.

The D.C. Council reversed many of those cuts but used one-time funds, leaving their future uncertain. Cuts to emergency rental assistance and the anti-poverty commission remained.

D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee recently told the D.C. Chamber of Commerce that economic and revenue signals are "flashing red" for the city, according to The 51st.

Capital Area Food Bank distributed 60 million meals last year and is preparing to add 10 to 20 million more annually over the next few years. On Friday, Sept. 11, more than 2,000 volunteers packed 700,000 meals at a 9/11 Day of Service event for distribution through the food bank.

The full 2026 Hunger Report is available at hunger-report.capitalareafoodbank.org. Residents seeking help applying for SNAP or finding food assistance can contact D.C. Hunger Solutions or visit a Capital Area Food Bank distribution site.