Food insecurity climbs across the San Antonio region
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More than 1 in 5 residents in the San Antonio Food Bank's service area struggles to consistently access enough food, a new report shows.
Why it matters: Food banks say they're seeing greater need as many families continue to grapple with high costs for groceries, housing and gas, while changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program create additional uncertainty, San Antonio Food Bank president and CEO Eric Cooper tells Axios.
The latest: Feeding America's recently-released annual Map the Meal Gap report, which is based on 2024 data — the latest available — shows food insecurity is rising throughout the state.
- About 19% of Texans experienced food insecurity in 2024, up from 18% a year earlier.
By the numbers: About 21% of residents in the San Antonio Food Bank's 29-county service area experienced food insecurity in 2024, per the report. That's up from 18% the year before.
- The report estimates 629,590 people in the region experienced food insecurity, including 188,600 children.
- Child food insecurity climbed from 21% to 26%, meaning more than 1 in 4 children experienced food insecurity.
Zoom in: Bexar County's food insecurity rate reached 23%, or about 467,000 people, per the county-level estimates. The report also 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.
- While the data is based on 2024, Cooper tells Axios food bank distributions increased 20% between 2025 and 2026.
Between the lines: Food banks worry demand could continue to rise as Texas implements federal changes to SNAP.
- Beginning in 2027, states with SNAP payment error rates above 6% will have to shoulder a share of benefit costs.
- Texas' error rate was 9% in fiscal year 2025, meaning the state could face up to $709 million a year in additional costs beginning in fiscal year 2028 if the law remains unchanged.
- Cooper said in a statement that he's urging Congress to delay the cost-sharing requirement by two years to give Texas more time to reduce its payment error rate before the new costs take effect.