Hunger reached its highest point in the United States in nearly a decade last year, with 18 million households, or 13.5%, struggling at some point to secure enough food, US Department of Agriculture report released on Wednesday said.

Hunger has been on the rise in the country since 2021, after years of decline. US Census Bureau data last year showed a rise in food insecurity after the end of programs that expanded food aid during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anti-hunger group Feeding America found in May that hungry people in the United States were facing a $33.1 billion shortfall in money to meet their food needs, in part due to higher food prices.

Expanding federal food aid and the child tax credit would help address the problem, anti-hunger groups have said.

Source: Qatar News Agency