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Food insecurity reaches record high in Massachusetts as costs climb

Food insecurity in Massachusetts reached a record high of 40% in 2025, affecting approximately 1.1 million households According to The Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham’s Sixth Annual Statewide Food Access Report.

This rate has more than doubled since 2019, when it stood at 19%, driven by high costs of living, inflation, and federal policy changes.

Nationally, food prices have increased by nearly 30 percent since March 2020 according to the Consumer Price Index. The recent cuts to federal programs such as the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and SNAP have increased pressure on families and the food bank network.

Key Statistics and Demographics:
Severity: 25% of households experienced “very low food security,” meaning they regularly skipped meals or went hungry.
Racial Disparities: Hispanic households faced the highest rate at 63%, followed by LGBTQ+ households at 58% and Black households at 51%.
Assistance Gaps: 56% of food-insecure households rely on charitable food systems, and 75% of SNAP participants reported needing additional support.
Health Impact: 57% of these households reported low nutrition security, and nearly 80% of adults in these households have at least one chronic health condition.

Historically, the rate was 37% in 2024, 34% in 2023, and 33% in 2022, showing a consistent upward trend over the past decade.

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF FOOD TRANSPORTATION

New research outlined in Nature Food shows that food miles, or the distance between the place where food is grown to your plate, has a much higher carbon footprint than previously estimated. The carbon cost is actually around 19 percent of all food-related transportation emissions.

Taking the entirety of the food supply chain into account, global food miles add up to around 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. However, this new study actually shows that eating fruits and vegetables is a noteworthy dilemma. Fresh produce Is especially a major player when it’s out of season and shipped from far away.

Transportation associated with fruits and vegetables added up to around 36 percent of the total food-miles emissions (or over 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent), nearly doubling the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from their production. Meat production, on the other hand, emits around 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, but transportation costs a little over 100 million tons.

The higher emissions for fruits and vegetables is largely due to carbon-intensive refrigeration to keep produce looking as ripe and plump as possible. If the whole population of the planet ate locally, emissions would drop by around a third of a gigatonne. For foods that must be transported, shifting to cleaner vehicles and natural refrigerants could help lessen the blow.