FRAC Chat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)recently said it will stop producing its Household Food Security report after it releases the final one on Oct. 22. This will be a major setback to the fight to ensure that all have access to the food they need to thrive. For decades, this report has provided critical insight into who in America struggles to put on the table it. Without it, the millions of families struggling to put food on the table become invisible, and the problem becomes harder to fix.

The Bottom Line: The child nutrition programs — including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) — are expected to continue operating during a short-term shutdown. The Summer EBT and Summer Nutrition Programs are not impacted by this shutdown as funding for these programs has already been disbursed.

Food insecurity is one of the major drivers of poor health outcomes in the U.S., making the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) indispensable. Research shows that hunger is the most damaging health consequence of poverty, contributing to chronic disease, impairing child development, and adding billions in avoidable health care costs each year.

The bottom line: Based on what we know now, WIC can remain operational during a short-term shutdown if steps are taken to support the program. Stakeholders should look to their WIC agencies for official updates on operations.

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission recently released its Make Our Children Healthy Again strategy. While the document includes 128 recommendations across 20 pages, it misses a critical opportunity to improve child health. It does not focus on expanding access to the federal nutrition programs as a key strategy to improve child health and address hunger and food insecurity — a problem that affects nearly 14 million children in the U.S.