Anti-hunger advocates say the U.S. is facing an "unprecedented" rise in food insecurity amid persistently high inflation in the grocery aisle and cuts to the food-stamp program earlier this year.

The rise in food insecurity — lacking enough food to live a healthy, active life — comes as the nation has ended the pandemic emergency and the economy, by many measures, continues to be strong. The unemployment rate is near a 50-year low, while wages have been rising for many workers.

But those figures hide a stark reality that's affecting a growing share of U.S. households, ranging from young families to older Americans. Although jobs are plentiful, many employees don't earn enough to cover the surging cost of living, pushing some to make tradeoffs like skipping meals.

And cuts to the food-stamp program earlier this year reduced benefits at a time when groceries are 20% costlier than two years ago. That caused food insecurity to jump to "unprecedented levels" in May among food-stamp recipients, according to a new survey from Propel, which makes an app for beneficiaries to check balances for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, (formerly known as food stamps).

About 44% of respondents reported skipping meals in the last month, a 7% increase and a record high, Propel noted. Those findings were echoed in a new study from the Greater Boston Food Bank, which found that some local families are making desperate choices, such as watering down baby formula or other food.

"When I see one in three households with children reporting that their children were hungry, or they skipped a meal, that shouldn't happen," said Catherine D'Amato, CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, told CBS MoneyWatch. "This shows this is a hunger crisis that is persisting in Massachusetts."

D'Amato said that current rates of food insecurity are the highest she has ever seen in her career. Her group's study, released Tuesday, found that 33% of Massachusetts households were food insecure in 2022, while 36% of those with children didn't have enough food last year.