More than 1.2 million New Jersey residents are struggling with food insecurity, a dramatic increase that shows how sharply the cost of putting food on the table has changed in just a few years.
New estimates from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2026 show that approximately 1,239,340 people in New Jersey — about 13% of the state’s population — lived in food-insecure households in 2024. Among them were roughly 329,500 children.
That represents a major increase from 2020, when an estimated 657,320 New Jersey residents, or 7.4% of the population, experienced food insecurity. By 2024, the number had grown by nearly 582,000 people — an increase of about 89% in the number of residents affected. The food insecurity rate itself rose from 7.4% to 13%, an increase of about 76% relative to the 2020 rate.
The increase did not happen overnight
The estimates show a steady rise year after year.
In 2021, approximately 812,440 New Jersey residents were estimated to be food insecure. That number climbed to 994,800 in 2022, then to 1,089,190 in 2023, before reaching more than 1.2 million in 2024.
Food insecurity does not necessarily mean that a person has no food at all. The USDA definition used by Feeding America refers to limited or uncertain access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Feeding America’s numbers are modeled estimates based on federal survey, Census, unemployment and other economic data rather than a direct head count of people experiencing hunger. (Map the Meal Gap)
The financial gap is getting much larger
Perhaps one of the clearest signs of the growing pressure is the amount of money families would need to close the gap between the food they can currently afford and the food they need.
New Jersey’s estimated annual food budget shortfall increased from about $381 million in 2020 to approximately $920 million in 2024.
Feeding America’s latest data also puts the average cost of a meal in New Jersey at $3.91.
The organization notes that food insecurity is often connected not only to the price of groceries but also to competing household expenses such as housing, utilities, health care and child care. Nationally, food prices rose substantially between 2020 and 2024, adding further pressure to household budgets. (News 12 – Default)
Nearly 330,000 children affected
The numbers involving children are particularly striking.
Feeding America estimates that 329,510 children in New Jersey are facing hunger or living in food-insecure households.
The latest Map the Meal Gap study found that child food insecurity exists in every county and congressional district in the United States, although rates vary significantly from one community to another. (Feeding America)
The picture emerging from New Jersey is therefore not simply one of families occasionally paying more at the grocery store.
In only four years, the state went from roughly 657,000 people facing food insecurity to more than 1.2 million.
Behind those statistics are households repeatedly making difficult calculations: groceries or rent, food or utilities, enough for this week or something left for the next.
And as the gap continues to grow, food insecurity is becoming an issue that reaches far beyond traditional assumptions about who needs help.
Sources: Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap 2026; News 12 New Jersey.
By NJ RADAR Team