2025-06-11 Republicans' Reckless Budget Cuts Will Leave Millions of Americans Hungry

What to Know: Republicans' Reckless Budget Cuts Will Leave Millions of Americans Hungry

As the cost of living continues to go up, Republicans in Congress are continuing to drive through a bill that would make it harder for Americans to put food on the table. State financial leaders have repeatedly warned that the proposed cuts to food assistance programs represent a direct assault on America's most vulnerable families. The result would be the decimation of programs that help feed children, seniors, and people with disabilities as Republicans simultaneously give tax breaks to corporations and billionaires. 

The proposed cuts—the largest cut to food assistance in American history—would lead to higher grocery costs for millions of Americans and increase poverty, food insecurity, and hunger, particularly among children. Here is what you need to know about congressional Republicans' food assistance cuts and their dangerous implications for America's families and communities:

Free School Lunch Programs Would Face Unprecedented Funding Shortfalls for 12 Million Students

• One free school lunch costs $4.43, yet congressional Republicans' budget cuts threaten to eliminate this critical nutrition support for millions of children who depend on school meals as their primary source of daily nutrition.

• More than half of the schools benefiting from this program—24,000 schools spread across every state, serving more than 12 million children—would no longer provide meals to children in low-income families, jeopardizing their health and learning.

SNAP Cuts Would Devastate Working Families, Force Millions to Go Hungry

• Congressional Republicans propose slashing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding by $300 billion, representing the largest cut to food assistance in American history and eliminating benefits for 3.2 million people.

• The plan would cut food assistance programs by nearly 30 percent, devastating the 1 in 5 children in the U.S. who rely on food assistance programs to meet their basic nutritional needs. In fact, more than 2 million children would see food assistance to their families cut substantially or terminated, forcing families to choose between groceries and other basic needs like housing, health care, and transportation.

• These cuts not only devastate working families, children, and seniors, but will also cost states billions in lost economic activity.

WIC Cuts Undermine Children's Health, Contradicting Republicans’ Stated Policy Goals

• President Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget would cut funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), meaning the program will not be able to support all of the families who apply with full benefits for the first time in almost three decades.
  
  

• The budget calls for drastically reducing the fruit and vegetable component of WIC's food benefits for both young children and new and expecting parents, taking away over $1.3 billion in benefits from 5.2 million people. Participants would face cuts of 62 percent to 75 percent compared to current levels, with toddlers and preschoolers losing $16 monthly and left with only $10 monthly for fruits and vegetables.
  
  

• Not only do these cuts directly contradict the Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" goals by depriving young children of essential nutrients during critical development years, but it will force families to spend more out-of-pocket to provide their children the same nutrition previously guaranteed by WIC.

State Economies Suffer Massive Losses While Families Bear the Burden

• States are forced to shoulder massive financial burdens as federal food assistance disappears, creating budget crises that ripple through education, health care, and live-saving social services.

• States will lose billions in lost economic activity as food assistance dollars that circulate through local economies vanish, harming grocery stores, farmers, and food distributors. California faces the largest impact with 818,000 WIC participants losing over $200 million in benefits.

• States may be forced to raise taxes or cut vital services like education and health care to compensate for the Republicans’ abandonment of their commitment to food security.

The bottom line: Congressional Republicans' reckless budget cuts would devastate millions of American families. The result would be a cascade of economic harm, subsequently forcing families to choose between groceries and other basic needs. Eliminating nutrition programs that have been supported by leaders of both parties for over 25 years would ultimately mean sicker children who do worse in school and economic harm for everyone.