Written By Lexx Thornton
Thousands of laid-off federal workers are among the 1.5 million people who don’t have access to enough food across the D.C.-metro area, according to new numbers released by the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB).
CAFB’s annual Hunger Report, released Thursday, found 41% of households impacted by cuts to federal jobs and spending are experiencing food insecurity.
“We’ve had so many of these individuals who are first-time food insecure because they just don’t have the level of income or that was just abruptly changed for them,” explained Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of CAFB.
More than two-thirds of the federally impacted households reported experiencing very low food security. “What that means is that they’re reducing the portion sizes of their meals or they’re skipping meals entirely,” explained Muthiah. “This year alone, 75,000 more individuals indicated that they were severely food insecure.”
The 4,000-person general population survey considers someone to be “food insecure” if they struggled to access enough food or the types of food needed at some point between May 2024 and May 2025. The report found 36% of the overall respondents were food insecure, compared to 37% in 2024 and 32% in 2023.
County-level hunger rates range from 22% to 49%, with D.C., Prince George’s County, and Prince William Counties experiencing the highest rates, according to the report.
Adam Bell, who served in the Air Force for 20 years and as a civil servant for five years, became food insecure after being laid off in March as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce. He said SNAP, Medicaid, and unemployment benefits help him get by, in addition to some food donations he received from CAFB partner Soldiers’ Angels.
“Luckily, when I was let go, my last paycheck — obviously they paid me out for all of my annual leave, all of my credit time, so it was a good chunk of change, but then I had to make it work,” Bell said. “And for the most part, I have been able to make it work, but now we’re kind of down to the nitty gritty of like, now what?”
Bell is applying to jobs in both the public and private sectors.
