Food Security
No Relief: Florida Families Are Choosing Between Food and Rent
A new statewide poll finds 82% of Floridians say food costs are rising faster than their income—and nearly half have gone deeper into debt just to feed their families.
Florida families are doing everything they can to keep up with rising costs—but for many, it’s no longer enough. Across the state, parents are making impossible decisions between groceries and basic necessities like rent, transportation, and medical bills. Behind the headlines about inflation are real families stretching paychecks, skipping meals, and accumulating debt just to put food on the table.
A new statewide poll conducted by Aspect Strategic on behalf of No Kid Hungry Florida puts hard numbers to that reality. 82% of Floridians say the cost of food is rising faster than their income. The poll mirrors results from the same poll a year ago, meaning there has been no relief.
- 70% say rising food costs have damaged their financial situation over the past 12 months, and nearly half (49%) say their debt has increased specifically because of food costs.
“The food cost is going up. Then gas is going up. Rent is going up. Everything is going up, so sometimes you have to choose on what bill you gonna have to pay and what bill you can’t pay so you can get groceries.”
—Black Mom, 35–49, Pasco County
Families Hit Hardest
The poll, conducted April 14–22, 2026, surveyed 1,021 Florida adults reflective of the state’s population. Families with children 18 and under are bearing a disproportionate share of the strain.
- Half of parents (49%) report skipping meals or eating less due to cost.
- Four in ten families (39%) have turned to “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services like Afterpay or Klarna to cover food—including half of families of color (49%).
- More than two-thirds of families report having to choose between buying enough nutritious food and paying for other essentials.
When asked what they’ve had to trade off against food, Floridians cited:
- Gas, car repairs, or transportation (41% overall; 47% of families)
- Rent or mortgage payments (33% overall; 38% of families)
- Utility bills (31% overall; 37% of families)
- Health care, medical treatment, or medicine (27% overall; 34% of families)
Poll methodology: Aspect Strategic recruited 1,021 survey respondents via SMS, reflective of Florida’s adult population. The margin of error is ±3.1% overall, and larger for subgroups. Post-stratification weighting was applied on age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, region, and political party identification.
Broad Support for SNAP, Opposition to Cuts
Floridians across the political spectrum hold strong views about what should be done:
- 75% say SNAP—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—helps parents afford enough food for their families.
- 70% say it helps families access healthy, fresh food.
- 62% say SNAP helps prevent low-income families from taking on debt.
Those views translate directly into opposition to federal cuts. 57% of Floridians oppose the SNAP funding reductions enacted as part of H.R. 1, the 2025 federal budget law. Nearly half (47%) say they strongly oppose those cuts.
“It has helped us tremendously, because myself and my husband both unexpectedly lost our jobs and we didn’t have a plan. After our saving depleted, we applied for SNAP for temporary help with food, and that was one of our main stress factors—so with the help from SNAP we didn’t have to worry about all of us eating and we could focus on the rest of our bills and looking for new employment.”
—White Mom, 35–49, Pinellas County
A Bipartisan Demand for Action
The poll found near-unanimous agreement on the core moral question: 96% of Floridians—including 95% of Republicans, 96% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats—agree that child hunger should not exist in Florida.
- 87% want elected officials to do more to end childhood hunger, and 92% say it should be a shared, bipartisan goal.
The question, then, is whether Florida’s elected officials are listening.
