Oklahoma's rate of food insecurity has slightly increased, according to the latest federal Household Food Security in the United States report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say it will end the hunger survey after this year's publication.
The report provides statistics on food security in U.S. households, with the most recent version centered on 2024 figures.
Oklahoma ranks sixth among the states with the highest food insecurity rates. Nearly 17% of Oklahoma households experienced food insecurity in 2022- 2024, according to the report.
That's above the national average, which was around 14% in 2024. It's also up from the previous report where the state's food insecurity was more than 15%, according to the department.
Crystal FitzSimons, president of the national anti-hunger advocacy group the Food Research and Action Center, said whenever food insecurity rises in a state, it's concerning. She said states with an increased rate should make sure people who need nutrition programs can access them.
In September, the USDA announced it is canceling the Household Food Security publication, calling it "redundant, costly, and politicized" in a press release.
But people working to address hunger say the data is important in informing advocacy and policy decisions.
For researchers such as Nila Pradhananga, an Oklahoma State University professor and nutrition extension specialist, the report is crucial for their work. Pradhananga said it is the gold standard for data.
"So I think having this would be the best option, but I don't really see any other that would be comparable to this that gives us a national reference," Pradhananga said.
She said it can be used for comparison with other measures like poverty rates, unemployment rates or inflation.
"I'm very interested in looking at how households with children versus households without children are affected with the food insecurity rates," Pradhananga said. "Adults and how they might have been different with adults with chronic diseases, for instance… So I think it's a very vital measure of the national economic well-being as a whole."
FitzSimons' organization is advocating for the USDA to continue releasing the data and is working with Congressional members to introduce a bill requiring the report to be issued.
"Without this report, it is very hard to understand what is going on as far as access to healthy and nutritious diets, and the impact of the policy decisions that they're making in Washington, D.C., or within states," FitzSimons said.
What else is in the report?
Nationally, the report shows there was a slight increase in food insecurity in 2024, meaning almost 48 million people struggled to get enough food across the country. FitzSimons said the food insecurity rate is similar to previous years, but one in seven households is still too high.
"And there have been plenty of times during the last few decades when this report was put out, when the number of people living in food insecure households were significantly lower," FitzSimons said.
Food insecurity in rural areas was similar to that of more urban areas but it varied by region and demographics. The Northeast part of the country had the lowest rate while the South had the highest.
Black households experienced the highest rates of food insecurity, more than twice as much as white households. The rate for women living alone was one 1.5% higher than their male counterparts.
Many factors impact people's food security or insecurity, Pradhananga said, like the economy and food accessibility, especially in Oklahoma.
"A lot of the time people might not have a supermarket that's closer to them, or it would be 15 or 20 miles away from their house," Pradhananga said. "And that's a big constraint on what and where people eat, what they eat."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
