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Report: 61% of restaurant workers are skipping meals due to financial stress

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May 26, 2026

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Instant Financial and the Center for Generational Kinetics released a 2026 report titled "Underserved: The Financial Reality of America's Hourly Restaurant Workers," which found widespread financial stress among restaurant employees. The survey of 750 hourly restaurant workers found that nearly two-thirds (61%) skipped more than one meal a week in the past month because they could not afford food.

Additional findings included:

Three-quarters of workers (75%) live paycheck to paycheck; among unemployed respondents, that figure rose to 83%.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) said they constantly or frequently feel stressed about financial issues.
Nearly 80% reported using at least one financial workaround in the past three months, including payday loans, credit card advances and overdrafts.

The report also found that workers facing unexpected expenses often forgo essential purchases until payday, borrow money from friends or family, delay paying bills, incur late fees or sell personal belongings.

"This is a major wake-up call for the entire restaurant industry," Tal Clark said in a press release. "The people serving our meals every day are, in many cases, unable to afford meals themselves. That signals that something is fundamentally broken."

Respondents also expressed frustration with management, with 53% saying company leadership does not understand what it means to live paycheck to paycheck. Another 35% said their employers do not care about their financial well-being.

"The findings from this study show a workforce under significant financial stress, and it is clearly affecting their daily lives," Jason Dorsey said in a press release. "It's rare to see this consistently high intensity within workforce experiences. Restaurant employers should take note and realize their workers need financial solutions that can improve their lives."