The Trump administration ended an annual hunger survey earlier this week. The USDA tracked hunger for decades with this survey, and local organizations like the Northern Illinois Food Bank used this data to better serve the community.
In a press release, the USDA accuses the study of fear mongering. They call the report "redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous." While the administration will be releasing one more report in October, some organizations are left trying to figure out how to fill the gap left behind by this data.
Julie Yurko is the president and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. She said the data showed them trends in food needs over time, and that often, the data supported what they were seeing on the ground.
“We’ve been able to look at the meals we’re distributing," she said, "and make sure that they are equitably distributed in all of our communities. We’ve been able to look at the neighbors who are coming to us and who aren’t coming to us and change our distribution so that we can reach everybody. And so, it’s so, so important to us.”
Yurko also said the data was an understated, but important piece to the food distribution puzzle.
“We want to make sure that we can achieve our mission, and that we can achieve that in a way that is efficient and effective and honoring," she said. "And so, losing this one piece — which, up until this point, I really haven’t thought of this — but it’s very foundational. This is a very foundational piece to our ability to utilize data as a tool.”
Yurko emphasized that additional obstacles, including in the SNAP application process, will make accessing food that much harder for Illinois residents.
Yurko is confident in their ability to adapt to changes like this one. She said now, their focus is shifting to figuring out how to bolster their own data collection methods. The food bank does have some existing data collection processes, and they plan to expand them to make up for the loss of this annual data.
The USDA will publish one last study in October.
Illinoisans who need help accessing groceries can go to the "Get Groceries" page on the food bank's website.