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Trump administration ends annual survey on food access struggles

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  Published in Food and Wine on Sunday, September 21st 2025 at 14:40 GMT by WMUR
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The Trump Administration Shuts Down a Key Tool for Tracking Food Deserts

A long‑standing federal effort to map America’s “food deserts” is coming to an abrupt end. In a recent announcement that has rattled public‑health advocates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – under the Trump administration – confirmed that it will no longer update the Food Access Survey, a critical data source used by state and local officials to pinpoint neighborhoods with limited access to affordable, nutritious food.

What the Food Access Survey Was

The survey, officially part of the USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas (FARA), has been in operation since the 2019 Farm Bill mandated the creation of a nationwide database that charts grocery stores, supermarkets, and other food outlets at the census‑tract level. Using a combination of data from the U.S. Census, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, and commercial lists of retailers, the Atlas calculates a “food access score” for each tract based on distance to the nearest grocery store, the proportion of residents living in low‑income or food‑insecure households, and the types of stores available.

“Food deserts are not just about distance,” said Dr. Alicia McKibben, a senior researcher at the Massachusetts Center for Food Policy. “They’re about affordability, quality, and the broader socioeconomic context that forces people to choose between buying groceries or paying rent.” The Atlas has become the de facto standard for identifying target areas for programs such as the USDA’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the Community Eligibility Provision of the National School Lunch Program, and state‑level food‑security grants.

In 2020, the USDA released the first comprehensive, nationwide map, which identified more than 9,000 census tracts with low food access. The data quickly found a home in local planning offices, non‑profits, and academic studies. “We rely on those numbers to apply for grants, to design outreach campaigns, and to argue for new grocery stores,” said Sarah Lin, director of the Worcester Food Bank. “Without up‑to‑date data, we’re flying blind.”

The Decision to End the Survey

On March 21, the USDA issued a brief notice stating that the Food Access Survey would cease to be updated for the fiscal year 2024. The announcement cited budgetary constraints and a strategic shift toward “streamlining data collection” as the primary reasons for discontinuation. The USDA’s policy team said the agency would instead focus on “enhancing existing data streams” and “leveraging private‑sector partners.”

While the USDA did not elaborate on what “streamlining” would entail, many analysts believe the decision is part of a broader trend of trimming federal programs that were seen as non‑essential by the Trump administration. “The Food Access Survey is not a revenue‑generating program,” said Tom Anderson, an agricultural economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Under a tight budget, the administration decided to cut what it called a ‘low‑priority’ data‑collection effort.”

The announcement came shortly after the USDA’s Office of Rural Development announced that it would be discontinuing its Food Access Data Collection (FADC) initiative, which had collected field data on food access in rural communities. Together, these cuts will leave a significant gap in the national picture of food accessibility.

Reactions From Local Leaders

Worcester city officials were quick to express concern. In a statement, Mayor Joseph P. Timlin said, “The Food Access Survey has been an invaluable resource for our city’s food‑insecurity strategy. We will now face a data vacuum that could hamper our ability to secure state and federal funding for food‑access initiatives.”

The Worcester County Food System Task Force, a coalition of local non‑profits, farmers, and community leaders, issued a joint letter to the USDA, urging the department to reconsider its decision. “We are on the front lines of the fight against food insecurity,” the letter read. “We need up‑to‑date, granular data to advocate effectively for resources.”

Similarly, the Massachusetts Department of Health released a note expressing its disappointment. “The state will need to step up its data collection efforts to fill the void left by the USDA’s withdrawal,” said Dr. Lisa Rodriguez, the department’s director of nutrition. “We are exploring collaborations with the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Public Health to develop a state‑wide food‑access index.”

Why the Data Matters

The Food Access Survey’s importance extends beyond grant eligibility. Its data informs a wide range of research and policy decisions. For instance, studies linking food deserts to higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease have used FARA data to map epidemiologic trends. Public‑health agencies have also relied on the Atlas to plan mobile food pantries and farmer’s markets.

Without updated data, local governments may be forced to rely on outdated statistics that no longer reflect changes in the retail landscape. In recent years, the retail food environment has seen significant shifts: grocery store closures, the rise of convenience stores and fast‑food outlets, and the entry of large supermarket chains into previously underserved areas. These changes can dramatically alter a neighborhood’s food access status over a few years.

Looking Ahead

The USDA’s decision to end the Food Access Survey is already spurring grassroots efforts to fill the gap. Several non‑profit data firms have announced new initiatives to collect and map food‑access data, often using crowdsourced information and machine‑learning techniques to estimate store availability. The Massachusetts Center for Food Policy, for example, is developing a “state‑wide food‑access dashboard” that will aggregate data from local governments, retailers, and consumer surveys.

In the federal arena, lawmakers have taken note. Representative Jim McGovern (D‑Mass.) has announced plans to introduce a bipartisan resolution to restore federal funding for food‑access data collection. “Food access is a public‑health issue, not a political one,” McGovern said in a press briefing. “We must provide our communities with the tools they need to fight hunger.”

For now, Worcester and other communities will have to navigate a more uncertain data landscape. As Sarah Lin of the Worcester Food Bank reminded reporters, “We have always had to be creative. We’re looking at new funding sources and partnerships. But it’s a steep hill to climb without the baseline data that the USDA has provided for the past decade.”

The USDA’s decision marks a significant shift in the federal approach to monitoring food access. Whether it will ultimately hinder or accelerate local efforts to improve food equity remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the loss of a reliable, nationwide food‑access database will require communities, researchers, and policymakers to find new ways to map and address the problem of food deserts across the United States.