Georgia food banks warn of blind spots after USDA ends key survey

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ending a decades-long survey that has been the nation’s primary tool for tracking food insecurity — a move that advocates and local leaders say could make it harder to see who’s struggling and where help is needed most.

The Household Food Security Survey measures how many people skip meals, cut portions or go without food so their children can eat. The survey’s results are broken down by state, providing what many consider a roadmap for targeting resources and funding.

Nonprofits and researchers rely heavily on the USDA’s data. The advocacy group, Hunger Free America , bases its annual reports on it, finding that one in five Georgia children — more than half a million — live in homes without steady access to foo