Food Affordability
Since 2019, the average monthly cost of groceries has risen by 32 percent, while earnings growth trailed slightly at 29 percent. Combined with other rising costs, additional grocery burdens have led family budgets to suffer. Urban analyses found that 1 in 4 adults took on debt to pay for groceries in 2023, and credit card delinquencies increased by 40 percent from 2022 to 2024. Recent cuts to federal food assistance programs will likely exacerbate these challenges for many families nationwide. Policy solutions to make food affordable to families must reduce the strain of food on household budgets and provide less expensive options to access food.
Body
- Reduce the costs of acquiring food. In many cases, local policymakers have little control over the cost of groceries, with global and regional supply chains often dictating price. But local policymakers can tackle some of the barriers to acquiring food, such as transportation costs and lack of grocery options. To lower the costs of acquiring food, local policymakers can expand local transportation services, including adding new service lines and increasing the frequency of run times, and subsidize transportation options for families experiencing food insecurity. Local policymakers can also partner with or support local nonprofits that are making food delivery more accessible.
- Eliminate local taxes on food products. Nearly 1 in 3 counties across 18 states tax food purchases. Previous research has found that grocery taxes can decrease spending on food for families who are eligible for federal food assistance but do not receive that assistance. Local policymakers can eliminate or scale back local taxes on food products to help alleviate grocery burdens.
- Universal free school food. For millions of students across the country, free and reduced-price school meals address food insecurity and enjoy broad public support. While changes to the social safety net and free meal program eligibility can reduce student access to free meals, state policymakers can help all students benefit from free school meals. Colorado, for example, provides free breakfast and lunch to all students, but ongoing changes to state budgets and program eligibility will require careful consideration of costs.
- Expand Food Is Medicine programs. Diet and health care needs are often related, with nearly one-fifth of national health care spending going toward diet-sensitive health conditions. In fact, these conditions tend to be more prevalent among people who struggle to afford healthy food options. To reduce health care spending and spending on food, state policymakers can request Medicaid demonstration waivers or use state dollars to expand Food Is Medicine programs, which collaborate with health systems and community organizations to provide people with medically tailored meals and groceries.
- Expand the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program. The Summer EBT program through the US Department of Agriculture helps to address food needs among families with low incomes during the summer when kids are out of school. In 2024, the program delivered nearly $2.5 billion in grocery benefits to 21 million children. However, 13 states still do not participate in the program. These state policymakers can adopt the program to provide more resources for families’ grocery bills. Policymakers in states that have already adopted Summer EBT can equip administering agencies with resources to enhance data systems and expand outreach to ensure more families can benefit.
- Expand the adequacy of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and facilitate program access. SNAP is the largest food assistance program in the US, helping roughly 42 million Americans buy food for themselves and their families. But its program design leaves out millions of people in need and fails to cover the full cost of a modestly priced meal. In addition, forthcoming cuts to the program will make it difficult for families with low incomes to afford food. To help address food affordability concerns, federal policymakers can increase the SNAP benefit amount, remove the cost neutrality provision that prevents the maximum benefit from increasing faster than inflation, and roll back other recent large cuts in eligibility for the SNAP program estimated to reduce or eliminate benefits for 22.3 million families. The Department of Agriculture can also support targeted outreach to groups with lower participation rates, including older adults and certain eligible college students. Further, policymakers can reduce paperwork burdens, which have been found to disrupt benefit access for 1 in 8 working-age adults.
- Expand SNAP investments in healthy food access. Nearly half of Americans have poor diet quality, and nationwide, the cost of healthier foods has risen faster than less-healthy alternatives. For households that already rely on SNAP benefits to meet their nutritional needs, it’s important that policymakers improve the affordability of healthy food options rather than focus on restricting SNAP purchases for certain foods. Federal policymakers can ensure SNAP better meets participating households affordability needs by subsidizing delivery fees for groceries in areas of low food access, extending the Health Incentives Pilot program, and boosting the SNAP match rate to help families purchase healthy foods when using their SNAP benefits.
- Ensure all eligible women, infants, and children can receive assistance. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) helps to support the food and nutrition needs of young children, but only half of those currently eligible for the program receive benefits. Federal policymakers can ensure more eligible mothers, infants, and children are able to access affordable food by using technology to simplify application processes, linking enrollment across multiple programs, and facilitating redemption of benefits.
- Reduce tariffs on imported food and agricultural equipment. Research has shown that the costs of tariffs are typically passed on by importers to domestic consumers, increasing the prices of goods. Recent estimates find that the current tariff levels are likely to affect nearly 75 percent of US food imports, almost certainly exacerbating high food prices. Federal policymakers can take steps to lower the cost of food by reducing tariffs on food imports and on agricultural equipment required for lower-cost domestic food production.
- Repurpose agricultural subsidies to target fruits and vegetables. Current federal food subsidies largely target agricultural commodities, including soy beans, corn, and wheat. These subsidies play a role in keeping the prices of processed foods in check, even as the prices of healthier foods have risen at faster rates. Federal policymakers can repurpose agricultural subsidies to support greater fruit and vegetable production, which could reduce food prices and stimulate household consumption of healthy food options.