Food insecurity climbs across the Houston region
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About one in five residents in the Houston Food Bank's service area struggles to consistently access enough food, a new report shows.
Why it matters: Food banks are seeing greater demand as many families continue to grapple with high costs for groceries, utilities and gas, while changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program create additional uncertainty, Melanie McGuire, Houston Food Bank's senior director of programs, tells Axios.
The latest: Feeding America's recently released annual Map the Meal Gap report, based on 2024 data — the latest available — shows food insecurity is rising throughout the state.
By the numbers: About 19% of Texans experienced food insecurity in 2024, up from 18%.
- In the Houston Food Bank's 18-county service area, 18% of residents — an estimated 1.44 million people — experienced food insecurity in 2024, up from 17% in the year before.
- Harris County's food insecurity rate reached 20%, up from 18% in 2023, according to the county-level estimates.
State of play: While the report reflects 2024 conditions, Houston Food Bank leaders say demand has continued to climb since then.
- McGuire said the number of new families seeking emergency food assistance is up about 10% year over year, while more households are returning for help more frequently than they did in prior years.
- Since November 2025, the food bank has consistently distributed 15 million pounds of food each month — up from roughly 14 million pounds per month during the previous eight months.
What they're saying: "We are the largest distributing food bank in the network … and honestly, we can't distribute our way out of it. If we could, we would have done it already. Considering we distribute more than anyone in the country, and yet here we are with folks still needing quite a bit," McGuire says.
Friction point: Food banks worry demand could continue to rise as Texas implements federal changes to SNAP.
- The report estimates 43% of food-insecure residents earn too much to qualify for SNAP benefits based on income, highlighting the role food banks play for families outside the federal safety net.
- "For every meal that the food bank provides, SNAP provides nine," McGuire says. "The charitable food sector is not equipped to provide what SNAP does."
Go deeper: Texas SNAP access declines following federal cuts