A new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that some American families are facing greater financial stress than at the beginning of the pandemic. The survey, conducted in February 2026, covered whether families were using their savings to pay for expenses, experiencing food shortages, and receiving food assistance or SNAP benefits.
The number of families with food insecurity is increasing.
The survey results show that economic hardship indicators have risen across the board. About 10% of respondents said that their families did not have enough food, or that their children had missed meals due to lack of food, more than double the 4% in June 2020.
More than a third of households reported having to use their savings to pay for food. This figure was 21.8% at the beginning of the pandemic. The New York Fed stated that households with lower levels of education, lower incomes, and young children were under greater pressure.
High prices and interest rates put pressure on
The New York Fed believes this pressure is directly related to rising living costs. Higher food and housing expenses, persistent inflation, and high interest rates are also increasing household debt burdens. Credit card, auto loan, and student loan delinquency rates remain high.
U.S. inflation rose to 3.8% in April, its highest level in nearly three years. Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York believe this indicates a widening economic divide in the U.S., with high-income earners continuing to drive wage and productivity growth, while low-income households are bearing more of the burden of price pressures.
Welfare cuts and their combined impact
As food insecurity worsens, consumer sentiment is deteriorating. The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index fell to 44.8 this month, below levels seen during the Great Recession and the pandemic. The percentage of households expecting their financial situation to improve in a year is also declining.
The report noted that the Trump administration previously stated that 2.4 million Americans had withdrawn from the SNAP program. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut $186 billion in SNAP funding over the next 10 years, a reduction of approximately 20%. Children and the elderly will be particularly affected, and the reduction in Medicaid and related health insurance subsidies is also pushing up costs for low-, middle-, and high-income families.
