Statement from Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos on Trump Administration Decision to Hide Hunger Data
Published on Tuesday, September 23, 2025
PROVIDENCE, RI – In response to news that the United States Department of Agriculture will cease issuing the Household Food Security Report, which is the definitive measure of food insecurity in the United States, Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos issued the following statement:
“The Trump Administration wants to hide the data on how his policies are increasing hunger in America, but we all know the facts. The price of groceries has risen 2.7% over the past year, including a 7.3% inflation in meats, and 10.9% inflation in eggs, and 2.9% in fresh vegetables.1 The President’s cuts to SNAP will cost tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders their food assistance 2 and has eliminated our successful SNAP-Ed program.3 And in Rhode Island, one in three families is food insecure.4 Even if the USDA stops publishing the data, Rhode Islanders know that their food is more expensive than ever because of this Administration's policies.
“The cause of this skyrocketing food insecurity lies in plain sight. Reckless tariffs are increasing the cost of food.5 We know, based on data from the pandemic, that big chains take advantage of chaos like this to hike prices even higher.6,7 At the same time, the Administration is giving up on enforcing federal laws that are meant to keep big businesses from colluding against competitors and consumers.8
“We cannot rely on this Administration to fix a problem it has created. The only path forward for affordable groceries is for states to fight for the working families and local small businesses that are getting shortchanged by big corporations. I will continue to push for a Fair Price Grocery Agenda that will protect Rhode Islanders from the effects of the Trump Administration’s policies.”
1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Consumer Price Index – August 2025.” News Release, September 11, 2025. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_09112025.htm.
2 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Rhode Island Factsheet.” May 29, 2025. https://nmd.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/epi/documents/reports/5-29-25sfp-factsheets-ri.pdf.
3 Sadie Brandt, “Nine URI Staff to Be Fired after Trump Budget Cuts.” The Good Five Cent Cigar, September 18, 2025. https://rhodycigar.com/2025/09/18/nine-uri-staff-to-be-fired-after-trump-budget-cuts/.
4 Rhode Island Community Food Bank, “2024 Status Report on Hunger in Rhode Island,” report, 2024, https://rifoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-Status-Report_Web.pdf.
5 “Where We Stand: The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of All U.S. Tariffs Enacted in 2025 Through April 2,” The Budget Lab at Yale, April 2, 2025, https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/where-we-stand-fiscal-economic-and-distributional-effects-all-us-tariffs-enacted-2025-through-april.
6 Isabella M. Weber and Evan Wasner, “Sellers’ Inflation, Profits and Conflict: Why Can Large Firms Hike Prices in an Emergency?,” Review of Keynesian Economics 11, no. 2 (April 14, 2023): 118–213, https://doi.org/10.4337/roke.2023.02.10.
7 “Feeding America in a Time of Crisis: FTC Staff Report on the United States Grocery Supply Chain and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Federal Trade Commission, March 21, 2024, https://www.ftc.gov/reports/feeding-america-time-crisis-ftc-staff-report-united-states-grocery-supply-chain-covid-19-pandemic.
8 Rich Bellis, “FTC Drops Biden-era Suit Accusing Pepsi of Price Discrimination,” NBC News, May 23, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/biden-era-pepsi-price-discrimination-suit-dropped-ftc-rcna208635.
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