With the nation’s recognition and celebration of Native American heritage just last month, we have all sorts of reasons to think deeply about food, our history, and our shared stories and future.
Millions of people in the U.S., including over 18 million children, are living in a state of fear and chaos perpetuated by the Trump administration, which has enacted a number of policies and practices explicitly designed to scare immigrants from accessing the limited benefits available to them. This includes restricting access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for humanitarian-based non-citizens in HR 1.
Summer 2025 marked the second year of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (Summer EBT). The program, also known as SUN Bucks, provides families with $120 in grocery benefits for each school-age child who is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Thirty-seven states, five Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs), and all five U.S. territories participated this past summer.
The country is facing an unnecessary, self-inflicted emergency: the Trump administration’s refusal to provide food assistance via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to millions of Americans despite clear legal authority and available funding. States, municipalities, nonprofits, courts, and advocates have had to step in to protect the nation’s most vulnerable families.
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the budget reconciliation law (H.R. 1). Republicans called it a victory for taxpayers, claiming it would save money and boost incomes. The reality is the opposite. The law shifts wealth upward on an unprecedented scale, cutting food assistance and health care coverage for millions to pay for massive tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations.