Tell Congress that Hungry Children Can Not Learn!
- Marianne Burke, PhD
- Mar 15
- 1 min read
Educators know that hungry children cannot focus on learning or engage in the classroom. But the House Agriculture Committee advanced the Farm Bill that supports the cuts made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that were part of the reconciliation bill passed last summer. If these cuts are not reversed, millions more Americans - many of them children - will go hungry.
The National Education Association opposed this bill and explained how these cuts, which are the largest in the program’s history, affect nutrition and food assistance. If not reversed, many families will lose SNAP benefits and when the family loses benefits their children’s automatic eligibility for school meals is interrupted. The family will be required to re-apply directly to the school for their child's free meals and this increases the administrative burden on schools as well as the families. Families who are already struggling will be required to complete additional complex paperwork or their children can go hungry both at home and at school.
SNAP benefits, formerly called Food Stamps, were designed to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet. It has been described as America’s most successful anti-hunger program. But H.R. 7567 coupled with the devastating cuts to SNAP in last summer’s reconciliation bill, now Public Law No: 119-21 (07/04/2025) will mean more children will go hungry.
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