Feeding America’s annual ‘Map the Meal Gap’ report was released Tuesday, marking the final time the report will utilize data from the USDA’s Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS) to generate local estimates for food insecurity and food costs.

In September, the USDA announced it would discontinue its Household Food Security Reports, calling them “redundant and costly.” Foodlink released a statement at the time, saying the decision “shields Americans from the reality of a worsening crisis.”

Feeding America intends to evolve its measurement of food insecurity and will “continue exploring new and alternative data sources and analytical methods as well as engaging the network and other partners before finalizing an approach to produce and release updated local estimates in 2027.”

The updated report, as is customary, reflects data from two years prior. For Foodlink’s 10-county service area, the food-insecurity rate dropped slightly from 12.8% in 2023 to 12.4% in 2024, and equates to 155,860 people, including 42,010 children.

Although the new report shows a slight drop in food insecurity from 2023 to 2024, data collected by Foodlink showed a sharp rise in people seeking food assistance during the same time period. Its network of food pantries and meal programs reported 1.3 million requests for assistance in 2023, and 1.8 million requests in 2024 — a rise of 40%.

Other local takeaways from the report include:

• 37.7% of those experiencing food insecurity do not meet the income eligibility threshold to qualify for SNAP assistance.
• The City of Rochester is home to 4 zip codes with food-insecurity rates more than double the region’s average. (14605 – 36.8%; 14614 – 32.1%; 14621 – 28.8%; 14608 – 27.5%)
• The rate in 14605 is the fifth-highest in the state (for zip codes with a minimum of 2,000 residents).
• Food insecurity does not impact everyone equally. If you are Black or Hispanic, you are 3x more likely to experience food insecurity
  in Foodlink’s service area.
• Among Foodlink’s 10 counties, Seneca County had the highest overall food-insecurity rate (13.7%), while neighboring Yates County had the lowest (10.8%).