FRAC Chat

On Friday, April 3,  President Trump released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2027. Despite the administration professing a commitment to making America healthy, this budget proposal would cut critical nutrition service for moms, babies, and children, dramatically slashing the benefit that participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receive to purchase fruits and vegetables — what is known as the cash value benefit (CVB). 

The president’s proposed budget reflects a clear set of priorities, and those priorities come at the direct expense of federal programs that help millions of Americans meet their basic needs and achieve economic stability.

Over the past year, SNAP participation has declined by approximately 3.3 million people. This is neither a neutral correction nor evidence that fewer Americans need help affording food. It is the predictable outcome of a set of deliberate policy choices advanced by the Trump administration and a majority of Republicans in Congress — choices that systematically reduce access to the program, increase administrative burden, and shift responsibility away from the federal government and onto states, localities, and ultimately families themselves.

Hunger doesn’t stop when school lets out — and for millions of children, summer can be the hungriest time of year when they no longer have access to school meals.

This week, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) released Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: The Reach of Summer Meals, which examined how well the Summer Meals Programs reached children in July 2024, nationally and in every state, compared to July 2023.

Many people think of spring break as a reprieve from homework, time for fun, or just a time to relax and recharge. But for the millions of children who lose access to free school breakfast and lunch and their parents who count on those meals to make ends meet, spring break creates significant financial pressure and stress for the family. And with the affordability crisis, matters are even worse.