FRAC Chat

For more than 60 years, Head Start has supported young children during their most important phase of growth and development. For families with limited resources, Head Start is a trusted source of care, education, nutritious meals, and health services. Despite Head Start’s long history of bipartisan support, and demonstrated success, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a proposed new rule that would fundamentally change the program. Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs, released on Aug. 7, 2026, would rescind and replace many current Head Start program requirements and standards, including several that promote child nutrition and healthy eating — even amid the current administration’s focus on nutrition (e.g. Make America Healthy Again).

Last month, FRAC published a blog explaining the new public charge rule, which takes effect on Sept. 18, 2026.

Additional federal guidance released on Aug. 18 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides more information about how the rule will be applied. This update summarizes what the guidance clarifies and what advocates need to know now.

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins highlighted the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda and cited changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as evidence of federal leadership in nutrition and health. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) similarly describes its MAHA strategy as strengthening nutrition programs, expanding healthier choices, and supporting families. Yet that narrative omits a critical part of the story: Policies advanced alongside the MAHA agenda are making SNAP harder to access, administer, operate, and evaluate at precisely the moment families are struggling with high food costs and food insecurity.

For more than a decade, high-poverty schools across the country have been able to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), reducing stigma and making it easier for children to access the nutrition they need to learn and thrive. Since becoming available nationwide in the 2014–2015 school year, CEP adoption has expanded dramatically, reaching over 27 million students in the 2025–2026 school year, and has become a cornerstone strategy for reducing childhood hunger. A new study by FRAC and the Urban Institute, Expanding the Reach and Impact of School Meals: How and Why Do Changes to the Community Eligibility Provision Affect Adoption?, examines over a decade of CEP implementation and sheds light on what drives schools to participate.

Across the country, children are putting on their backpacks and returning to school. Millions of families are also struggling to make ends meet amid higher food, child care, and transportation costs.