The fight against hunger has never been an easy one, even in as wealthy a country as the United States. But never before has the U.S. government abandoned that fight to the extent it did in 2025. During the government shutdown in the fall of last year, the longest in U.S. history, the Trump administration delayed full funding for critical food and nutritional support programs. As a result, on November 1, the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (SNAP) lapsed, the first time it had ever done so since the program’s inception in 1939. The lapse left 42 million Americans without access to the food benefits they rely on to feed themselves and their families.
The Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) also relied on emergency funding during the government shutdown to continue providing families with infant formula and breastfeeding support. But the dereliction began months before the shutdown: H.R.1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, made drastic changes to SNAP by imposing new work requirements and eligibility rules. The changes have added to the uncertainty of the program’s future, and potentially limit adjunctive eligibility for WIC, which allows families to qualify for the program if they already qualify for SNAP or Medicaid.
These threats to the nutrition of Americans are an injustice that will have long-lasting consequences, and pregnant women, children, and low-income families will be the first to experience harm. The threats are compounded by rising health care costs that affect access following the expiration of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s enhanced premium tax credits, which helped Americans afford insurance coverage. Nutrition and maternal health are deeply connected, and consistent access to healthy food is essential for positive birth outcomes.
Cuts and delayed funding to nutritional support programs—lifelines for low-income families to live healthy, fulfilling lives—will lead to worsening food insecurity. Unless we change course immediately, American health and well-being will suffer for generations to come.
SNAP and WIC Are Preventive Health Care
SNAP and WIC help pregnant people receive expert-recommended nutrition, which supports healthy pregnancies and reduces risks before, during, and after childbirth. Access to nutritious foods helps prevent maternal malnutrition, which can increase the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage during childbirth, some of the most common causes of maternal death. For Black women, who continue to face disproportionately high rates of pregnancy-related mortality, reliable food access is key for preventing these health conditions.
Nutrition is critical during the first 1,000 days, the period between conception and a child’s second birthday. The first 1,000 days serves as a critical window for brain development and physical growth, and lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong health and well-being. Because a baby’s brain undergoes significant developmental restructuring by age 2, deficits resulting from maternal malnutrition early on will be hard to overcome later. Infants born to mothers experiencing food insecurity during pregnancy are at an increased risk of preterm birth and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Evidence suggests that early-life nutrition deficiencies are linked with higher risks of obesity, chronic disease, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Infants born to mothers experiencing food insecurity during pregnancy are at an increased risk of preterm birth and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Evidence suggests that early-life nutrition deficiencies are linked with higher risks of obesity, chronic disease, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Food insecurity also worsens race- and income-based disparities. Generations-long injustice and insecurity experienced by Black Americans have contributed to higher uninsured rates, being more likely to go without care due to cost, and being more likely to report worse health status. Black infants are disproportionately likely to be born pre-term, with low birthweight, and to die in infancy. The same is true for babies born to low-income households. Programs like SNAP and WIC play a vital role in ensuring access to healthy food, supporting positive pregnancy outcomes and infant development, and reducing these inequities.
Nutrition Shapes Generations: The Science of Maternal Diet and Epigenetics
Decades of research on epigenetics, maternal diet, early nutrition, and long-term health demonstrate that a pregnant person’s nutrition influences their child’s development, susceptibility to disease, and long-term health. Epigenetics refers to how diet, physical activity, and stress levels can change not only a pregnant person’s health, but also their children’s. Epigenetic changes, which function as on-and-off switches for genes, are triggered by both behavioral and environmental factors.
Animal studies illustrate this effect clearly. Researchers Waterland and Jirtle showed that nutritional deficiencies in pregnant mice led to offspring with abnormal metabolism, higher risk of obesity, excess insulin, and shortened lifespans. Similarly, the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort followed families for over twenty-five years, and found that prenatal exposure to undernutrition during the 1940s Dutch Famine increased children’s risk for obesity, insulin resistance, and hypertension in adulthood.
When a pregnant person stretches or skips meals due to inconsistent food access, their body adjusts by altering gene activity, such as by slowing metabolism to conserve energy and cope with starvation. These epigenetic changes can be passed to children, heightening their risk of obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease. In this way, inadequate maternal nutrition does not only affect immediate health; it can shape the health, development, and economic potential of future generations.
WIC and SNAP Have Made America’s Moms and Babies Healthier
For decades, WIC and SNAP have helped make significant health gains in maternal and infant health. Early SNAP data show that mothers who participated in the program during pregnancy were less likely to give birth to low-birth-weight babies. Additionally, research from the American Economic Association followed individuals who used SNAP in early childhood and found that they had lower risks of obesity and chronic disease in adulthood.
WIC participation is similarly associated with positive infant outcomes. A study found that the infant mortality rate for mothers who participated in WIC during pregnancy was 5.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 8.2 deaths for those who didn’t participate in the program. Another study in Hamilton County, Ohio found that Black WIC participants experienced an infant mortality rate of 9.6 per 1,000 deaths, compared to 21.0 deaths per 1,000 live births among non-WIC participants, demonstrating the program’s potential to reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes. WIC has also supported gains in breastfeeding initiation, which is tied to a reduced risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, obesity, and type 1 diabetes for infants.
Nutrition Assistance Builds Health and Economic Security
Reliable access to nutritious food supports both health and financial stability, because it helps families navigate household needs and expenses during pregnancy and early childhood.
Food insecurity is linked to higher health care spending: food-insecure households spend approximately 45 percent more on health care in a year than food-secure households. Investments in SNAP and WIC can help families reduce these costs and the associated financial strain. Low-income adults who participate in SNAP are more likely to seek preventive health care, and incur 25 percent less in medical costs in a year when compared to low-income individuals who don’t participate in the program. Similarly, WIC helps families access preventive health care, stay connected to the health care system early, and avoid more serious or costly medical care. Given that more than one in three American households carry medical debt—disproportionately affecting low-income households and communities of color—investments in SNAP and WIC can help mitigate the health and financial consequences of food insecurity.
Nutrition assistance also helps families during economic downturns. Unstable employment and fluctuating work hours often drive individuals to enroll in SNAP, making it a critical support during periods of instability. Households without an employed adult are more likely to experience food insecurity, which can increase the risk of poor health outcomes.
Keeping WIC and SNAP fully funded and accessible allows families to meet their basic needs, reduce stress during pregnancy and caregiving, and support healthy pregnancies and child development. When families have reliable access to nutritious food, they are better positioned to care for their children, remain engaged in work, and build a stable foundation for long-term health and well-being.
Funding, Access, and Program Changes Threaten Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition
The government’s stop-and-start approach to funding nutrition assistance programs undermines their effectiveness and will only worsen food insecurity. Inconsistent funding during critical life stages disrupts access to essential nutrition, increasing the risk of long-term health consequences that can extend across generations and negatively affect population health.
WIC participation has increased since 2022, and as H.R. 1’s work requirements and eligibility rules limit access to SNAP, the program may face additional pressure as families seek alternative nutrition support. Although Congress enacted flat funding for WIC through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2026, this level may prove insufficient to meet the increased need. If WIC is unable to meet rising demand, according to WIC prioritization rules, postpartum adults who are not breastfeeding and preschoolers would be turned away from the program first. Given that breastfeeding rates are lower among Black parents due to inequities in access and support, Black parents will be more likely to be turned away from the program, thereby worsening race-based health inequity.
Given that breastfeeding rates are lower among Black parents due to inequities in access and support, Black parents will be more likely to be turned away from the program, thereby worsening race-based health inequity.
The government’s argument that cuts to SNAP are meant to target waste, fraud, and abuse is unfounded. Many participants use SNAP temporarily as their incomes change. Others rely on the program when they work in jobs that have fluctuating hours or benefits, or when their wages are simply not enough to meet basic needs.
Rather than cut benefits, delay funding, or limit access to these programs, policymakers should focus on strengthening and modernizing nutrition assistance programs to better meet family needs.
Policy Recommendations
Inconsistent funding for food and nutrition assistance programs, along with H.R. 1’s legislative changes to SNAP, underscore how easily progress on nutrition access can be undermined by policies that increase administrative burdens or restrict eligibility for pregnant people and young children. To strengthen maternal and infant nutrition and ensure families can access the support they need, federal and state policymakers should act on the following proven strategies to strengthen nutrition assistance programs.
Maintain Adequate Funding for SNAP and WIC
The federal government must ensure SNAP and WIC funding keeps pace with rising food costs and participation needs by regularly adjusting benefit levels and budget allocations. Research shows that SNAP benefit levels often fall short of fully covering the cost of a healthy diet for many households, leaving many families struggling to meet their food needs.
States also have a role, and can adjust benefits to reflect local food prices and provide emergency allotments during crises. For example, states provided emergency funding in November 2025 when the federal government shutdown halted SNAP benefits.
Leverage Existing Mechanisms to Facilitate Access
H.R. 1 shifts SNAP costs and administrative responsibilities to states, which may force difficult budget and policy decisions. When making these decisions, states should refrain from eliminating the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) program, which allows for families that get services through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to qualify for SNAP benefits if their incomes are at or below 100 percent of the federal policy line. BBCE serves as an important tool to offset enrollment complexity and maintain program access. Currently, forty-four states use BBCE to simplify the enrollment process for families, and research shows that using BBCE reduces administrative costs by 7 percent per case.
Strengthen Health Care and Food Access Linkages
States should continue integrating SNAP and WIC enrollment into health care settings. Data show that most SNAP recipients are covered by Medicaid: in 2022, 61 percent of individuals who used SNAP were covered by Medicaid, 7 percent were covered by Medicare, and 18 percent were covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. Strengthening linkages between health care and food access can help identify food insecurity early and ensure continuity of benefits during the pregnancy and postpartum periods.
Innovate New Enrollment Outreach Channels
Additionally, states should support outreach for enrollment in hospitals, clinics, and community programs, as well as in target populations with historically lower participation. These outreach campaigns will help ensure pregnant and postpartum individuals, infants, and young children are connected to programs early and consistently.
Finally, local WIC agencies can continue partnering with local innovators to support families who rely on the program. Tools like the Lulo and WIC Shopper apps help families track their benefits and identify WIC-approved foods, improving benefit use and participation satisfaction, especially for new parents.
A Thriving Nation Requires a Fed Population
Nutrition policy in recent decades has supported maternal and infant health progress, and it can continue to do so. Policy decisions that affect funding, eligibility, and access to federal nutrition assistance programs are not neutral: they are policy choices with lasting health and economic consequences for the American public.
SNAP and WIC are proven, preventive investments that improve birth outcomes, reduce health care costs, and support family stability during periods of economic uncertainty. When these programs are weakened through funding lapses, benefit cuts, or administrative barriers, pregnant and postpartum individuals, young children, and families experience both immediate and long-term harm.
Government support of food security is a social, economic, and moral imperative. Policymakers must implement strategies that ensure adequate and reliable funding to support the nation’s health and well-being.
Tags: low-income families, food affordability, food insecurity, Hunger, mothers
Hunger Is a Policy Choice That Will Lead to Decades of Worsening Health
The fight against hunger has never been an easy one, even in as wealthy a country as the United States. But never before has the U.S. government abandoned that fight to the extent it did in 2025. During the government shutdown in the fall of last year, the longest in U.S. history, the Trump administration delayed full funding for critical food and nutritional support programs. As a result, on November 1, the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (SNAP) lapsed, the first time it had ever done so since the program’s inception in 1939. The lapse left 42 million Americans without access to the food benefits they rely on to feed themselves and their families.
The Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) also relied on emergency funding during the government shutdown to continue providing families with infant formula and breastfeeding support. But the dereliction began months before the shutdown: H.R.1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, made drastic changes to SNAP by imposing new work requirements and eligibility rules. The changes have added to the uncertainty of the program’s future, and potentially limit adjunctive eligibility for WIC, which allows families to qualify for the program if they already qualify for SNAP or Medicaid.
These threats to the nutrition of Americans are an injustice that will have long-lasting consequences, and pregnant women, children, and low-income families will be the first to experience harm. The threats are compounded by rising health care costs that affect access following the expiration of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s enhanced premium tax credits, which helped Americans afford insurance coverage. Nutrition and maternal health are deeply connected, and consistent access to healthy food is essential for positive birth outcomes.
Cuts and delayed funding to nutritional support programs—lifelines for low-income families to live healthy, fulfilling lives—will lead to worsening food insecurity. Unless we change course immediately, American health and well-being will suffer for generations to come.
SNAP and WIC Are Preventive Health Care
SNAP and WIC help pregnant people receive expert-recommended nutrition, which supports healthy pregnancies and reduces risks before, during, and after childbirth. Access to nutritious foods helps prevent maternal malnutrition, which can increase the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and hemorrhage during childbirth, some of the most common causes of maternal death. For Black women, who continue to face disproportionately high rates of pregnancy-related mortality, reliable food access is key for preventing these health conditions.
Nutrition is critical during the first 1,000 days, the period between conception and a child’s second birthday. The first 1,000 days serves as a critical window for brain development and physical growth, and lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong health and well-being. Because a baby’s brain undergoes significant developmental restructuring by age 2, deficits resulting from maternal malnutrition early on will be hard to overcome later. Infants born to mothers experiencing food insecurity during pregnancy are at an increased risk of preterm birth and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Evidence suggests that early-life nutrition deficiencies are linked with higher risks of obesity, chronic disease, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Food insecurity also worsens race- and income-based disparities. Generations-long injustice and insecurity experienced by Black Americans have contributed to higher uninsured rates, being more likely to go without care due to cost, and being more likely to report worse health status. Black infants are disproportionately likely to be born pre-term, with low birthweight, and to die in infancy. The same is true for babies born to low-income households. Programs like SNAP and WIC play a vital role in ensuring access to healthy food, supporting positive pregnancy outcomes and infant development, and reducing these inequities.
Nutrition Shapes Generations: The Science of Maternal Diet and Epigenetics
Decades of research on epigenetics, maternal diet, early nutrition, and long-term health demonstrate that a pregnant person’s nutrition influences their child’s development, susceptibility to disease, and long-term health. Epigenetics refers to how diet, physical activity, and stress levels can change not only a pregnant person’s health, but also their children’s. Epigenetic changes, which function as on-and-off switches for genes, are triggered by both behavioral and environmental factors.
Animal studies illustrate this effect clearly. Researchers Waterland and Jirtle showed that nutritional deficiencies in pregnant mice led to offspring with abnormal metabolism, higher risk of obesity, excess insulin, and shortened lifespans. Similarly, the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort followed families for over twenty-five years, and found that prenatal exposure to undernutrition during the 1940s Dutch Famine increased children’s risk for obesity, insulin resistance, and hypertension in adulthood.
When a pregnant person stretches or skips meals due to inconsistent food access, their body adjusts by altering gene activity, such as by slowing metabolism to conserve energy and cope with starvation. These epigenetic changes can be passed to children, heightening their risk of obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease. In this way, inadequate maternal nutrition does not only affect immediate health; it can shape the health, development, and economic potential of future generations.
WIC and SNAP Have Made America’s Moms and Babies Healthier
For decades, WIC and SNAP have helped make significant health gains in maternal and infant health. Early SNAP data show that mothers who participated in the program during pregnancy were less likely to give birth to low-birth-weight babies. Additionally, research from the American Economic Association followed individuals who used SNAP in early childhood and found that they had lower risks of obesity and chronic disease in adulthood.
WIC participation is similarly associated with positive infant outcomes. A study found that the infant mortality rate for mothers who participated in WIC during pregnancy was 5.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 8.2 deaths for those who didn’t participate in the program. Another study in Hamilton County, Ohio found that Black WIC participants experienced an infant mortality rate of 9.6 per 1,000 deaths, compared to 21.0 deaths per 1,000 live births among non-WIC participants, demonstrating the program’s potential to reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes. WIC has also supported gains in breastfeeding initiation, which is tied to a reduced risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, obesity, and type 1 diabetes for infants.
Nutrition Assistance Builds Health and Economic Security
Reliable access to nutritious food supports both health and financial stability, because it helps families navigate household needs and expenses during pregnancy and early childhood.
Food insecurity is linked to higher health care spending: food-insecure households spend approximately 45 percent more on health care in a year than food-secure households. Investments in SNAP and WIC can help families reduce these costs and the associated financial strain. Low-income adults who participate in SNAP are more likely to seek preventive health care, and incur 25 percent less in medical costs in a year when compared to low-income individuals who don’t participate in the program. Similarly, WIC helps families access preventive health care, stay connected to the health care system early, and avoid more serious or costly medical care. Given that more than one in three American households carry medical debt—disproportionately affecting low-income households and communities of color—investments in SNAP and WIC can help mitigate the health and financial consequences of food insecurity.
Nutrition assistance also helps families during economic downturns. Unstable employment and fluctuating work hours often drive individuals to enroll in SNAP, making it a critical support during periods of instability. Households without an employed adult are more likely to experience food insecurity, which can increase the risk of poor health outcomes.
Keeping WIC and SNAP fully funded and accessible allows families to meet their basic needs, reduce stress during pregnancy and caregiving, and support healthy pregnancies and child development. When families have reliable access to nutritious food, they are better positioned to care for their children, remain engaged in work, and build a stable foundation for long-term health and well-being.
Funding, Access, and Program Changes Threaten Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition
The government’s stop-and-start approach to funding nutrition assistance programs undermines their effectiveness and will only worsen food insecurity. Inconsistent funding during critical life stages disrupts access to essential nutrition, increasing the risk of long-term health consequences that can extend across generations and negatively affect population health.
WIC participation has increased since 2022, and as H.R. 1’s work requirements and eligibility rules limit access to SNAP, the program may face additional pressure as families seek alternative nutrition support. Although Congress enacted flat funding for WIC through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2026, this level may prove insufficient to meet the increased need. If WIC is unable to meet rising demand, according to WIC prioritization rules, postpartum adults who are not breastfeeding and preschoolers would be turned away from the program first. Given that breastfeeding rates are lower among Black parents due to inequities in access and support, Black parents will be more likely to be turned away from the program, thereby worsening race-based health inequity.
The government’s argument that cuts to SNAP are meant to target waste, fraud, and abuse is unfounded. Many participants use SNAP temporarily as their incomes change. Others rely on the program when they work in jobs that have fluctuating hours or benefits, or when their wages are simply not enough to meet basic needs.
Rather than cut benefits, delay funding, or limit access to these programs, policymakers should focus on strengthening and modernizing nutrition assistance programs to better meet family needs.
Policy Recommendations
Inconsistent funding for food and nutrition assistance programs, along with H.R. 1’s legislative changes to SNAP, underscore how easily progress on nutrition access can be undermined by policies that increase administrative burdens or restrict eligibility for pregnant people and young children. To strengthen maternal and infant nutrition and ensure families can access the support they need, federal and state policymakers should act on the following proven strategies to strengthen nutrition assistance programs.
Maintain Adequate Funding for SNAP and WIC
The federal government must ensure SNAP and WIC funding keeps pace with rising food costs and participation needs by regularly adjusting benefit levels and budget allocations. Research shows that SNAP benefit levels often fall short of fully covering the cost of a healthy diet for many households, leaving many families struggling to meet their food needs.
States also have a role, and can adjust benefits to reflect local food prices and provide emergency allotments during crises. For example, states provided emergency funding in November 2025 when the federal government shutdown halted SNAP benefits.
Leverage Existing Mechanisms to Facilitate Access
H.R. 1 shifts SNAP costs and administrative responsibilities to states, which may force difficult budget and policy decisions. When making these decisions, states should refrain from eliminating the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) program, which allows for families that get services through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to qualify for SNAP benefits if their incomes are at or below 100 percent of the federal policy line. BBCE serves as an important tool to offset enrollment complexity and maintain program access. Currently, forty-four states use BBCE to simplify the enrollment process for families, and research shows that using BBCE reduces administrative costs by 7 percent per case.
Strengthen Health Care and Food Access Linkages
States should continue integrating SNAP and WIC enrollment into health care settings. Data show that most SNAP recipients are covered by Medicaid: in 2022, 61 percent of individuals who used SNAP were covered by Medicaid, 7 percent were covered by Medicare, and 18 percent were covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. Strengthening linkages between health care and food access can help identify food insecurity early and ensure continuity of benefits during the pregnancy and postpartum periods.
Innovate New Enrollment Outreach Channels
Additionally, states should support outreach for enrollment in hospitals, clinics, and community programs, as well as in target populations with historically lower participation. These outreach campaigns will help ensure pregnant and postpartum individuals, infants, and young children are connected to programs early and consistently.
Finally, local WIC agencies can continue partnering with local innovators to support families who rely on the program. Tools like the Lulo and WIC Shopper apps help families track their benefits and identify WIC-approved foods, improving benefit use and participation satisfaction, especially for new parents.
A Thriving Nation Requires a Fed Population
Nutrition policy in recent decades has supported maternal and infant health progress, and it can continue to do so. Policy decisions that affect funding, eligibility, and access to federal nutrition assistance programs are not neutral: they are policy choices with lasting health and economic consequences for the American public.
SNAP and WIC are proven, preventive investments that improve birth outcomes, reduce health care costs, and support family stability during periods of economic uncertainty. When these programs are weakened through funding lapses, benefit cuts, or administrative barriers, pregnant and postpartum individuals, young children, and families experience both immediate and long-term harm.
Government support of food security is a social, economic, and moral imperative. Policymakers must implement strategies that ensure adequate and reliable funding to support the nation’s health and well-being.
Tags: low-income families, food affordability, food insecurity, Hunger, mothers