Talk to an Expert - Food Research & Action Center

Find an expert on solutions to ending hunger in America.

To speak with one of our experts, please contact Jordan Baker at jbaker@frac.org.

Browse experts on:

- Fighting Harmful Cuts to SNAP and Food Assistance Programs
- Households Food Security Data
- The Impact of Budget Reconciliation on Hunger
- Protecting Access to School Meals
- Challenging SNAP Restrictions and Waivers
- Bridging the Summer Hunger Gap with Summer EBT
- Momentum Building for Healthy School Meals for All

SNAP Director: Gina Plata-Nino | Bio

Topics: SNAP, College Hunger

Story Ideas

- The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 would repeal the devastating cuts made to SNAP in the budget reconciliation law
- SNAP food restriction waivers harm millions of households, overburden state agencies, and damage local economies.
- Millions of college students nationwide rely on SNAP as a critical resource for accessing food to fuel their health and learning.
- Research consistently demonstrates that SNAP improves the health, nutrition, and well-being of millions of households.

FRAC Chat Blogs

- Shifting the Burden: How the Recently Passed Budget Reconciliation Package Reshapes SNAP and Strains State Budgets
- SNAP’s Critical Role in Rural Communities — and the Consequences of Cuts

In the News

- Some states set to impose SNAP bans on soda, candy and other foods (CBS News)
- Food Stamp Cuts Could Deal a Blow to Small Grocers (The New York Times)

Child Nutrition Programs & Policy Director: Alexis Bylander | Bio

Topics: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Afterschool Nutrition Programs, Summer Nutrition Programs, Community Eligibility Provision

Story Ideas

- Healthy School Meals for All — offering school breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge to families —helps ensure that all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.
- Community eligibility allows high-need schools to continue to offer free meals to all students, but many high-need schools are not participating and too many schools are not eligible.
- Cuts to SNAP are cuts to school meals.

FRAC Chat Blogs

- MAHA Strategy Misses Opportunity to Expand Children’s Access to Healthy Food Through the Federal Nutrition Programs

In the News

- Map shows states with most schools impacted by proposed meal funding cut (Newsweek)
- At These Grocery Stores, No One Pays (Civil Eats)

Deputy Director of Child Nutrition Programs & Policy:Clarissa Hayes | Bio

Topics: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Story Ideas

- Leveraging CACFP for Farm to Early Care and Education.

FRAC Chat Blogs

- Farm to ECE: A Key Opportunity to Bolster Child and Adult Care Food Program

In the News

- State lawmakers weigh costs, benefits of school policies, programming (Alaska’s News Source)
- No free lunch? School districts work to feed students as meal debt soars. (The Christian Science Monitor)

WIC Deputy Director: Kate Scully | Bio

Topics: Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Story Ideas

- WIC is a lifeline for nearly 6.5 million pregnant and postpartum women and young children, including roughly half of all infants born in the U.S.
- WIC’s enhanced Food Package to strengthen program participation and improve health outcomes.
- Ensuring WIC remains fully funded to protect access to essential nutrition resources and support, including healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and healthcare referrals.

FRAC Chat Blogs

- How Cuts to the Nation’s Largest Nutrition and Health Programs Will Hurt Families and Young Children
- How Will a Government Shutdown Affect WIC Benefits?

In the News

- What the Shutdown Revealed About Food and Agriculture Policy (Civil Eats)
- Nutrition program for women, infants and children to stay afloat through end of month (News From the States)

Senior Child Nutrition Policy Analyst: Kelsey Boone | Bio

Topics: Summer EBT

Story Ideas

- More than 21 million children in 38 states and the District of Columbia to benefit from Summer EBT in 2026.
- Summer EBT offers an exciting opportunity to reduce summer hunger by providing additional resources to purchase food during the summer months.
- Summer EBT provides targeted assistance to families with low incomes while generating significant local economic activity.
- State-funded alternatives to Summer EBT do not work and reach far fewer children at much higher costs.
- Cuts to SNAP set to block children from accessing Summer EBT, weakening a key tool to fight summer hunger.

FRA Chat Blogs

- Over 9.9 Million Eligible Children Could Miss Out on Summer EBT Food Benefits in 2026
- How Chickasaw Nation Implemented Their Inaugural Summer EBT Program

In the News

- With Tennessee Opting Out of Summer EBT, Hunger Looms (Nashville Banner)
- Did Families Miss Out on Federal Funds to Help Feed Their Children Last Summer? (The 74)

Director of State Initiatives: LaMonika Jones | Bio

Topics: Grocery Store Access, D.C. Hunger and Maryland Hunger (School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Afterschool Nutrition Programs, Summer Nutrition Programs)

Story Ideas

- Closing the grocery store gap: Residents in Wards 7 and 8 still have limited access to grocery stores.
- The Give SNAP A Raise Amendment Act will be a significant step forward in ensuring thousands of D.C. residents have access to healthy food.
- H.R. 1 strips away vital food assistance from millions of people across the country, including nearly 700,000 Marylanders who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.
- Over 600,000 Marylanders, or more than 1 in 10 households, live in poverty and struggle against hunger.
- Making free Healthy School Meals for All available to all students in the state of Maryland.
- Closing the grocery store gap in the nation’s capital.

In the News

- Maryland Hunger Solutions using activism and education to combat statewide poverty, food insecurity (Midday)
- It’s finally back-to-school season. Here’s what you should know. (The Washington Post)