Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, president, Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025 — The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report released today fails to recognize the inextricable link between hunger and health. Nearly 14 million children in this country live in households that struggle to get the nutrition they need, threatening their growth and development and increasing their risk of chronic disease. Hunger is a major driver of poor health and must be addressed as a public health crisis.
Decades of research have shown that federal nutrition programs, which include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the summer and afterschool nutrition Programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), are not only critical for addressing hunger, but also serve as vital interventions for supporting the health of children and their families.
The MAHA Commission must promote greater investments in these programs. The return on investment will be children thriving where they live, learn, and play, reduced hospitalizations, lower health care costs, and improved local economies.
The MAHA Commission report is being released on the heels of the House GOP passing a budget bill that would lead to more negative health outcomes for children and families by slashing SNAP— our nation’s first line of defense against hunger — by $300 billion. This will only increase health care expenditures and put additional strain on families and systems already stretched thin. Rather than promoting health, this bill threatens to reverse decades of progress in nutrition and public health.
We urge the Commission to take a more productive path by uplifting the extensive research supporting the value of these programs and to heed our recommendations to protect and strengthen the federal nutrition programs to create a healthier, stronger America.
