Washington households continue to face food insecurity amid rising costs and uncertain federal support, WAFOOD6 survey finds

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington households are grappling with the sustained pressure of rising prices, strained food budgets and growing uncertainty about federal food assistance programs, according to the sixth wave of the Washington State Food Security Survey (WAFOOD6). The survey, a partnership between the University of Washington, Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), gathered responses from 5,717 Washington households between March and April 2026.

WAFOOD has tracked food security, food assistance use and economic well-being among Washington households since 2020. While WAFOOD is designed to provide detailed insights into the experiences of households facing food insecurity rather than to estimate statewide prevalence, the data offer a uniquely detailed picture of how Washington families are faring.

Key findings

• Nearly all WAFOOD6 households (90 percent) reported that prices in their area increased in the past month, and a similar share expressed concern about future price increases. Among food-insecure respondents, 69 percent said they had reduced the quantity or quality of food they ate to cope with rising costs, a sign that food inflation is not merely an economic concern but a direct threat to health and nutrition.
• The expenses most commonly reported as hard to afford were utilities, food and housing, reflecting the reality that food insecurity does not exist in isolation from broader financial stress. Food insecurity was experienced at all income levels in the WAFOOD6 sample: among households earning $75,000–$150,000, 25 percent were food insecure and 26 percent used at least one type of food assistance in the past month.
• Almost half of all WAFOOD6 households (48 percent) used some form of food assistance in the past month. The most widely used programs were food banks and pantries, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school meals. Notably, both food-secure and food-insecure households reported using assistance programs, reflecting the role these programs play in helping families manage costs before they reach a crisis point.
• School meal programs were especially important for households with children. Among WAFOOD6 households with children who used school meals, 83 percent reported that their children’s schools provided free meals, and a majority said those meals helped stretch their household food budget.
• Among food-insecure respondents, the mental health toll was striking: 86 percent reported high stress in the past month, and rates of anxiety and depression were significantly higher than among food-secure respondents.

The importance of state-level data

The WAFOOD6 findings come at a moment of heightened uncertainty for food security data nationally. The federal Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, which had tracked household food insecurity since 1995, was terminated in September 2025. As a result, no national mechanism currently exists to track whether food insecurity rates are rising or falling, or which populations are most affected.

“At a time that we’re seeing huge disruptions to federal food assistance programs and the loss of the national survey that allowed us to track whether rates of household food insecurity were going up or down at a national and state level, WAFOOD data are more important than ever,” said Marie Spiker, PhD, RD, co-principal investigator and assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. “Knowing how people are faring is part of good governance, and for Washington State to have this kind of data is really important.”

“Our findings show that Washington households continue to feel the impact of rising prices,” said Jennifer Otten, PhD, RD, principal investigator and professor in the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. “What is especially concerning is that nearly seven in ten food-insecure WAFOOD6 households reported cutting back on the quantity or quality of food that they eat and this is a reminder that food inflation is not just an economic issue, but also a health and wellness issue.”

Spiker also noted that food insecurity at higher income levels reflects the broader cost-of-living pressures Washington residents face: “We often see food security affected not just by food prices, but by all the rising costs of living that compete with food in the household budget.”

“The WAFOOD survey continues to provide meaningful insight into household experiences with hunger safety net programs that are administered by the state in partnership with Tribes, local governments and community-based organizations,” said WSDA’s Director of Food Systems Initiatives, Katie Rains. “In the coming year, WAFOOD data will inform the discussion as WSDA aims to take a pro-producer, anti-hunger approach to leading development of a coordinated food security strategy.”

About WAFOOD

The Washington State Food Security Survey (WAFOOD) was launched in 2020 to assess food security, food assistance use, economic well-being, and health among Washingtonians. WAFOOD6 was conducted in nine languages: English, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. The survey intentionally oversamples households with lower incomes and those using food assistance to provide deeper insight into the experiences of those most affected by food insecurity. Results reflect the experiences of survey participants and should not be interpreted as estimates of statewide prevalence.

WAFOOD is led by the University of Washington and Washington State University, with funding support from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Additional information and past WAFOOD findings are available on the UW WAFOOD project page.

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