Montgomery County was the only jurisdiction in the D.C. region to see food insecurity fall, a new report from the Capital Area Food Bank found.

The 2026 Hunger Report, released Wednesday, Sept. 16, showed 38% of households across the greater Washington region experienced food insecurity over the past year. That is the worst reading in five years, surpassing levels seen near the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 51st.news.

Montgomery County dropped from 35% to 31%, The Banner reported. The food bank noted the decline falls within the survey's margin of error but called it "notable as an outlier." Regionwide, the rate rose from 36% to 38%.

"This is serious. There's just no other way to slice it," Capital Area Food Bank President and CEO Radha Muthiah said at the report's release.

Muthiah credited Montgomery County for spending the most in the region to fight hunger, singling out the county's Office of Food Systems Resilience. The food bank has 43 partner organizations in the county.

Across the region, the numbers went the other direction. Prince George's County reported the highest food insecurity rate at 56%, up from 49% the prior year. D.C. came in at 39%. Arlington and Fairfax counties reported the lowest rates at 22% and 27%.

The D.C. metro area lost 104,000 jobs between January 2025 and January 2026, more than any other major metro area in the country, the report found. Consumer prices have outpaced average weekly earnings in the region.

Federal policy changes have added pressure. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July 2025, is expected to reduce Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending by roughly $186 billion over 10 years. The Maryland Department of Human Services estimated that nearly 36,000 Marylanders have lost SNAP benefits since the law took effect in November.

The effects are showing up at local pantries. Bethesda Help, a food pantry serving Bethesda and surrounding communities since 1968, reported that SNAP cuts hit 4,900 Montgomery County residents. The pantry said its food stock was low as of late August.

As the Beacon reported Aug. 24, federal cuts had nearly doubled the caseload at Manna Food Center, Montgomery County's largest food assistance organization. Craig Rice, the former County Council president who now leads Manna, said in August that roughly one in three county residents faces difficulty getting enough food, citing figures from before the new report's release.

The 2026 Hunger Report surveyed nearly 4,000 residents across Maryland, D.C. and Virginia in May. The Capital Area Food Bank partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago on the research. Across the region, 34% of children live in food-insecure households. Middle-income families earning between $92,000 and $183,000 make up 17% of the food-insecure population.

The food bank distributed 60 million meals last year and said it is preparing to distribute an additional 10 to 20 million meals annually to meet rising demand.