The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers 15 domestic food and nutrition assistance programs that affect the lives of millions of people and account for roughly two-thirds of USDA's annual budget. In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USDA launched additional temporary programs and implemented numerous policy changes that expanded the scope and coverage of existing programs. Together, these programs contributed to $183 billion in spending on food and nutrition assistance programs in fiscal year (FY) 2022 (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022). This report uses preliminary data from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to examine program trends and policy changes in USDA's largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2022. It also summarizes a recent USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) report examining the prevalence of household food insecurity in the United States in 2021 and another USDA, ERS report examining changes in food choices in the USDA Foods program.

This report uses preliminary data from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service to examine trends in U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal year 2019. It also highlights two recent ERS reports: one on household food insecurity in the United States in 2018 and another on the multiplier effect of increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.