Working to End Hunger in America

This article is part of a series exploring the wide-ranging consequences of proposed SNAP cuts. Today’s conversation is with Children’s HealthWatch, a nonprofit focused on improving children’s health in the U.S., to share insights on how these changes would affect the health and well-being of young children and their caregivers. Special thanks to Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, PhD, MPH, Richard Sheward, MPP, Ana Poblacion, PhD, MS, and Charlotte Bruce, MPH.

This article is part of a series examining the sweeping and often overlooked consequences of proposed SNAP cuts, sharing a range of perspectives — from health experts and policy leaders to frontline grocers and rural providers — about the ripple effects of slashing the nation’s most critical anti-hunger program. Beyond the headlines, these changes threaten to destabilize families, shutter small businesses, and weaken local economies.

This article is part of a series examining the sweeping and often overlooked consequences of proposed SNAP cuts. Beyond the headlines, these reductions threaten to destabilize families, shutter small businesses, and strain local governments already operating under tight budgets. In this installment, Gina Plata-Nino, JD, Deputy Director of SNAP at FRAC, interviews Joseph M. Petty, Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. Mayor Petty shares how SNAP cuts would hit cities hard—disrupting local economies, increasing demand on overwhelmed food pantries, and undermining the ability of municipalities to meet residents’ basic needs. Their conversation underscores the critical role of SNAP in sustaining resilient, thriving communities.