Published October 30, 2025
Parents and teachers know that children can’t learn on an empty stomach. Yet that’s what they’re facing if the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t act immediately to release funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Millions of schoolchildren across the country will go to bed hungry and wake up unprepared to start the school day.
There is no reason for it to be this way. Here’s why:
1. USDA has the money.
Teachers and school staff know how important SNAP and good nutrition are to helping students stay focused in class, learn and be healthy. USDA is fully able to ensure that students have this resource, even during a government shutdown.
2. But USDA is choosing not to use the money.
Failure to act is a decision made by the Trump administration. USDA’s own shutdown plan (now removed from its website) indicated it would use its approximately $5 billion in contingency funds to provide SNAP benefits.
3. Past presidents figured it out.
In recent budget crises and government shutdowns, both Republican and Democratic administrations found ways to sustain SNAP by using contingency funds, carryover appropriations and short-term adjustments. Even the first Trump administration ensured SNAP benefits reached families during the 2018-19 government shutdown. That authority remains intact for USDA now.
4. Working families are already struggling with rising costs.
More than 62 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children. No American family should have to fear going hungry when there is no excuse for any delay in SNAP benefits. Kids shouldn’t have to worry that school meals will be the only food they will eat that day.
5. We should all agree: Our children should have the nutrition they need to succeed.
This is not a partisan issue. We urge USDA to make the right choice: Act immediately to ensure no child in this country has to go hungry.
Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.8-million-member AFT, representing education, healthcare and public service professionals. Crystal FitzSimons is president of the Food Research & Action Center, a national anti-hunger organization.