The sixth annual statewide study on food insecurity from The Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham – Massachusetts Food Access Report: Hunger on the Rise – has revealed that 40% of Massachusetts households experienced food insecurity in 2025. It also revealed disparities in food access based on geography, with 40% of households in Plymouth County facing food insecurity, up 10% from 2024.
Compounding affordability crises and costs of living are forcing food-insecure families to make impossible decisions between eating, heating their homes, and paying for essential health care. Nationally, food prices have increased by nearly 30 percent since March of 2020 according to the Consumer Price Index.
Among other key findings:
• Hunger on the rise: Food insecurity impacted 40% of Massachusetts households in 2025, up from 37% in 2024 (more than double pre-pandemic numbers – 19%).
• Support is insufficient: While SNAP remains a critical foundation, the data shows that benefits alone are no longer sufficient, forcing many households to increasingly rely on community-based food programs to meet their basic needs. 75% of households utilizing SNAP report needing additional food assistance.
• Charitable food as a critical safety net: The charitable food system is playing an increasingly essential role, with over half (56%) of food-insecure households depending on them—a record high that underscores increased need and the limits of existing public supports.
• Disparities: Hispanic households have consistently experienced the highest rates of food insecurity during the past six years, with levels reaching 63% in 2025. Black households (51%) and LGBTQ+ households (58%) continue to experience outsized levels of food insecurity as well.
Nationally, food prices have increased by nearly 30 percent since March 2020 according to the Consumer Price Index. The recent cuts to federal programs such as the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and SNAP have increased pressure on families and the food bank network. Since October 2025, food supplied to GBFB through the USDA has been reduced by nearly 36%, increasing the need for philanthropic and state resources to help close the resulting gap.
“While the data shows that we are headed in the wrong direction when it comes to food insecurity, Massachusetts has always been committed to solutions – this moment isn’t any different,” said GBFB President and CEO Catherine D’Amato. “The call to action is clear: we must continue to invest in our emergency food system to meet this urgent and growing demand. And we must work together on implementing long-term solutions to poverty to empower everyone to live better, healthier, and more productive lives.”
This study demonstrates how interconnected Massachusetts’ hunger-relief system has become, with government and charitable food assistance programs working in tandem to meet basic needs. SNAP remains a critical foundation, but the data indicates that benefits alone are not sufficient, leading many households to rely on community-based food programs to meet their needs. This increased demand places added pressure on the food bank network and its 900+ local partners, who must raise additional funds and depend on state support through the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP). Furthermore, this survey was conducted before the new SNAP work requirements and eligibility rules from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act went into effect, which will only result in more reliance on food pantries in the coming year.
“As more patients struggle to access consistent, nutritious food, we are seeing the direct impact on their health and well-being,” said Dr. Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH, Chief Community Health & Health Equity Officer and Executive Director of the Kraft Center for Community Health at Mass General Brigham. “That’s why Mass General Brigham is working alongside community partners to ensure all Massachusetts families have resources to meet rising demand and serve as a critical bridge to better health for the communities we care for.”
“This report highlights what I hear every day: the high cost of living is causing families to choose between paying for rent or childcare and food,” said Congressman Jim McGovern. “We know that the federal changes to SNAP and Medicaid will only make this affordability crisis worse. We should be shoring up our public investments, not walking away from our hungry neighbors.”
“The shameful rise in hunger that we’re seeing today didn’t happen by accident—it’s the result of precise, intentional policy choices from Donald Trump and a Republican party that have contempt for the people,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. “From gutting programs like SNAP and WIC, to manufacturing a government shutdown that left millions of families without food assistance, to their failure to address the affordability crisis—Republicans are literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry people. I’m grateful to our partners at The Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham for compiling this necessary report, which will inform our work to end hunger in Massachusetts once and for all. Food is a human right, it is medicine, and it is dignity. It’s time our policies reflect that.”
Report Background and Recommendations
In response to the study’s findings, GBFB and Mass General Brigham call for the following immediate increases in funding for public programs and sustained structural reforms to build a food security system capable of meeting escalating needs, while managing the existing crisis.
Recommendations include:
• Increasing state-level funding through the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP) to $58 million.
• Strengthening SNAP administration and benefit adequacy by providing DTA with $30 million in funding to hire additional caseworkers.
• Expanding access to WIC, Universal School Meals, HIP, TEFAP, CSFP, and HRSN medically tailored nutrition supports.
• Investing in Food is Medicine initiatives to prevent and treat diet-related illnesses. Also investing in research that builds the evidence base for effective, scalable food and nutrition security interventions, including through MEFAP, Food Security Infrastructure Grants (FSIG), and Healthy Incentives Program (HIP).
• Expanding local food system infrastructure to improve access to nutritious, culturally responsive, Massachusetts grown foods.
• Advancing long-term reforms addressing the root causes of hunger, including income inadequacy, housing instability, and healthcare access barriers.
“The goal of these recommendations is to shift the role of public programs from managing hunger to preventing it by enhancing financial stability and reducing the reliance on the emergency food system. We need to ensure that families have a bridge back to economic stability so they can meet their food needs independently and with dignity,” said D’Amato.
From October through December 2025, GBFB and Mass General Brigham conducted an online survey of more than 3,000 adults across Massachusetts, offered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Learn more about the methodology, key findings, and policy recommendations.