War-Driven Hunger Holds Deep Ties to US Homelessness

How the Closure of a Vital Shipping Waterway Is Raising Grocery Prices and Pushing American Families Closer to Homelessness

As American households struggle with hunger and housing costs, the repeated closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carries a significant portion of the world’s fertilizer, has driven up grocery and fuel prices nationwide. That price spike, layered on top of unprecedented cuts to safety nets like SNAP, is squeezing household budgets so tightly that homelessness is becoming a real risk for millions of Americans who were previously just getting by.

More than 40 million Americans are now trying to choose between essentials like food, rent, and transportation, a predicament that can be an early indicator that homelessness is on the horizon. Some households manage to weather the storm, but many fall through the cracks of social safety nets. War abroad shows itself in many ways, from the crops and soil to grocery store prices. Every farmer’s story, every family’s struggle, every soldier’s tribulation is connected.

The Hunger Report Reveals Families Are Floundering

According to the latest statistics, food insecurity (often a precursor to homelessness) has reached record highs, surpassing even the level it was at during the COVID-19 pandemic. This translates to 48 million people fighting food insecurity across the United States, 14 million of whom are children.

In a broadcast from NBC4 Washington, parents discussed the brutal reality of not having enough food or formula: “We need to eat. Babies need formula. People need everything in this world,” said one interviewee.

“I literally have to go to my parents’ house to steal some macaroni,” said a middle-aged woman waiting for her food benefits to kick in.

That scarcity is becoming the norm. As you read this article, tens of millions of households are trying to decide between the gas they need to get to work, the rent they need to keep a roof over their heads, and the food they need to lead a healthy life.

What Repeated Closure of a Vital Waterway Means

“War with Iran provoked the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That raised the prices of gas, fertilizer, and groceries. Higher prices for gas and food, coupled with cuts in food assistance, have increased US hunger and homelessness,” said Rev. David Beckmann, a longtime World Bank economist, pastor and activist.

Beckmann is the author of Poverty Abolitionists (Bloomsbury, 5/5/26), a book that draws from his years of experience combating hunger through legislative advocacy and volunteerism. Through his writings, Beckmann argues that the Trump Administration has undermined decades of progress against poverty.

According to Beckmann and other experts, global and domestic food security is being threatened as social safety nets are being eliminated on a mass scale at a time when hunger is becoming an accelerating issue.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is the latest obstacle to exacerbate American hunger. Since the waterway fell under a dual blockade, energy and fertilizer shortages have rippled across the United States, affecting families, farmers, corporations, and consumers.

This is because the strait is a major Oceanic gateway responsible for the safe passage of roughly 20% of seaborne fertilizer and 46% of carbamide, a chemical compound that plays a crucial role in agriculture and manufacturing. With the waterway shut, much of that fertilizer never finds its way to America’s farms and pastures.

On the front end, this hurts the farmers who can no longer afford the fertilizer they need to grow their crops. On the back end, the decrease in agricultural supply translates to massive inflation of grocery prices.

On top of this, the closure hit the textile and apparel sector hard, as the freeze on petrochemical exports drove up polyester production costs by 10-15%. This means skyrocketing costs on all essential items, from gas and groceries to goods and apparel.

This conundrum sits on the cusp of an affordability crisis in which rental rates have far outpaced median wages. As more Americans are forced to choose between rent, gas, and food, the prospect of poverty is slowly reshaping the economy in ways not previously seen in recent history.

News4’s Molette Green reports that the current food gap is so severe that it could last for generations rather than years. Faith groups and nonprofits are doing their best to curb the hunger crisis, but it is still eating out of the rental payments, leaving many vulnerable to homelessness, hunger, or both.

“War, hunger, and homelessness are deeply connected because each one reveals how fragile life can become when people lose access to the basics we all need to live with dignity: food, shelter, safety, and human connection,” president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA Kerry Alys Robinson told Invisible People reporters.

Through its member agencies located across the country, Catholic Charities works with individuals and families experiencing housing instability, hunger, poverty, and other urgent needs. Kerry has a unique window into how vulnerable communities feel global and economic pressures. Still, she remains hopeful that in the end, it is the humanity in each of us that will prevail.

“When wars and other global crises drive up the cost of food, housing, and other necessities, individuals and families already working hard to stay afloat can find themselves facing impossible choices and moving closer to hunger, housing instability, or homelessness,” she said. “Confronted with so many challenges and so much suffering in our midst, the temptation to despair can be strong, but the reward of finding ways to help your fellow human beings in need is even more powerful.”

One Easy Way to Help Your Fellow Human Beings Is to Tell Your Legislators to Make Housing a Human Right

When housing is a human right, communities are safer, communal health and well-being increase, and the next generation can rest in the security of having a stable place to call home. Wouldn’t you want that outcome for your homeless neighbor, just as you would want it for yourself?

Tell your local legislators to prioritize food security and affordable housing today.