USDA nutrition spending hit all-time high in fiscal 2020; hunger at pandemic low; webinar on food insecurity Sept. 8

Here's the latest on hunger and nutrition assistance programs:

The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will host a one-hour webinar at 1 p.m. ET Sept. 8 to discuss USDA's annual report on food insecurity in the U.S., which will come out that day. The report covers changes in food insecurity from previous years, the prevalence of food insecurity by household demographics, and food insecurity among children. ERS social-science analyst Alisha Coleman-Jensen will host. Click here for more information or to register.

"After cresting at 13.7 percent at the end of 2020, the U.S. hunger rate is now the lowest, 7.8 percent, since the pandemic began in early 2020. Analysts say the expanded child tax credit, coronavirus relief programs and rebound from recession all helped," Chuck Abbott reports for The Food & Environment Reporting Network. That's according to a data analysis of the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Spending on USDA's domestic food and nutrition assistance programs in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2020, reached an all-time high of $122.1 billion, 32 percent higher than FY 2019. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which rural residents use disproportionately, accounted for 65% of the spending. About 40 million Americans participated in SNAP each month, up 12%. Read more here.