Published May 4, 2026
Let’s Be Crystal Clear
By Crystal FitzSimons, President, FRAC
Reflections From the 2026 FRAC National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference
Walking into the FRAC National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference last week to join more than 900 advocates from across the country in conversation and community reminded me of the strength of the anti-hunger network — especially in the challenging moment we are facing.
It reaffirmed how important gathering together is. Being together helps fuel our resolve, which we carry to Capitol Hill and back to our states, and local communities — where policy becomes real for the tens of millions of people who are struggling to put food on the table.
The conference offered an important inflection point. We acknowledged the harm and impact of the $187 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the advocacy work needed to reverse the devastating cuts, and the mitigation work required as the cuts roll out across the country. Much of the conference focused on how state and local leaders are approaching this work as the real impact of the cuts are beginning to be felt across the nation, and I appreciated the thoughtfulness, creativity, and strategy that is being brought to this work.
We also acknowledged that access to SNAP and increasing program benefits should be a priority in the Make America Healthy Again movement, given SNAP’s role in improving health outcomes and reducing health care costs. The push for SNAP food restriction waivers instead will push people off of SNAP by creating stigma and embarrassment. Restrictions make it harder for participants to buy food based on individual dietary and cultural needs. They also create chaos and confusion in the grocery store along with increased cost and burden for retailers, which will lead some to drop out and make it more difficult for struggling families to use their benefits. And for the state agencies who operate the program, it will further squeeze state budgets and strain already overworked staff.
Even as we focused on the urgency of our work to protect and strengthen SNAP, we also acknowledged the glimmers of hope that we see in the fight to end hunger. Most importantly, there is tremendous public support for SNAP. Recent polls found broad public support and have highlighted that support for SNAP. SNAP is an “important program for our country,” and 81 percent support either increasing SNAP funding or keeping funding at current levels — not cutting it. Polling has also showed us that the more people hear about SNAP the more they support it.
We also leaned into the anti-hunger community’s work to expand Healthy School Meals For All (HSMFA), which is when schools offer breakfast and lunch to all their students at no charge. HSMFA continues to be incredibly popular and a win-win-win for kids, families, and schools. We celebrated that New York joined the eight states offering free meals to all their students; North Dakota’s effort to pass a HSMFA ballot initiative this fall; and of course, the success of community eligibility in allowing over 54,000 schools nationwide to implement HSMFA.
We also celebrated our success in protecting funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) last year, and recommitted to winning that fight again this year, and the gains we have made in reducing summer childhood hunger, with the Summer EBT Program that our community championed and was instrumental in creating, coming to more states — with the opportunity to bring the program to every state in the nation.
Upon reflection, the conference also offered an important opportunity to lean into our shared vision: that every child should have what they need to thrive, that parents and caregivers should be able to focus on raising their children and taking care of their loved ones, not facing the toxic stress that comes from poverty and not having enough to eat. That older adults have what they need to thrive. That we honor and take care of those who have served our country. And we recommit to working together to build a nation free from hunger.