COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has long helped local groups and food banks pinpoint where food insecurity hits hardest.

Now that survey is ending and some Columbia organizations say losing that insight makes their fight against hunger even tougher.

“Food insecurity is getting worse in South Carolina,” said Omme-Salma Rahemtullah, FoodShare SC Executive Director.

She said she knows that because of the Household Food Security reports. The surveys tracked how many families across the country were struggling to put food on the table. Recent data shows South Carolina’s food insecurity rate at 14.4%, higher than the national average of 12.2%.

In a statement , the USDA said, “These redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies do nothing

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