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Food insecurity is an increasingly pressing challenge in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Localized estimates from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap indicate that more than 1.76 million Pennsylvanians, including over half a million children, faced food insecurity in 2024. In total, one in seven Pennsylvanians (13.5%) lived in households that experienced difficulties accessing enough food to live active, healthy lives as of that year. For the Commonwealth’s children, this proportion rose to one in five (19.3%).

Although the most recent food insecurity data ends in 2024, public policy changes and persistent food price inflation over the last two years point to the strong likelihood that food insecurity rates are even higher today. Available real-time intake data from central Pennsylvania food pantries also points toward a rise in food hardship, while federal support to Pennsylvania’s charitable food system has dropped substantially in the same time frame.

The 2026 Food Insecurity in Pennsylvania Report assesses the 2024 food insecurity landscape in Pennsylvania and its 67 counties according to Map the Meal Gap. The report also provides further context about the food insecurity situation in the present via analysis of trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps), the effects of recent federal changes to SNAP and other programs, and the resulting impact on the charitable food network. The report thus aims to provide an up-to-date, robust understanding of the extent of food insecurity and the charitable food system’s response to it across the Commonwealth.

To learn more, please see the full 2026 Food Insecurity in Pennsylvania Report.