Trump is punishing poor people under the guise of promoting their health
From gutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to eliminating funding for local food programs, these policies threaten the nutrition and well-being of people in need.
In early March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) terminated $1 billion for programs that help food banks and schools purchase food from local farms, a move that disappointed food and agriculture advocates and drew sharp criticism from 31 U.S. Senators. Soon after, USDA cancelled millions of dollars in funding for food deliveries to food banks. The 29 million children who eat school lunch and 50 million people receiving charitable food assistance—two vulnerable groups in society—will lose access to fresh produce when grocery prices are already sky high.
The USDA's Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Programs help supply fresh food from local producers to feeding institutions like food banks and to schools and childcare facilities, respectively. These programs are a triple win for beneficiaries, the farmers and ranchers in over 40 states, and local economies.
LFPA alone has generated over $1.5 billion of local economic activity since the program began in December 2021. And the loss of LFS is devastating to schools, whose meal programs were already struggling with rising food costs.
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In Louisiana, advocates have witnessed the benefits of LFPA and LFS on community health and the economy as they have seen farmers expanding vegetable production every year and cattle farmers selling local beef to the school systems. The loss to the state is immense, resulting in less healthy food and less local purchasing power for schools and food banks.
In West Virginia, the state was set to receive over $2 million in LFPA funds, with 90% of the food producers classified as underserved. 'This is not a handout, but a critical market opportunity for farmers,' said Spencer Moss, executive director of West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition. 'Just as we're finally seeing meaningful progress, the support is being withdrawn. This isn't about any single farm or food bank; it's about supporting rural communities and investing in their future.'
Meanwhile, SNAP, the nation's first line of defense against hunger, is also on the chopping block. SNAP promotes health, lowers healthcare costs, and serves as an economic stabilizer during recessions, and 40% of program participants are children. Yet the latest budget resolution proposed by House Republicans in Washington would cut at least $230 billion from agriculture programs over the next decade, the lion's share of which will be taken from SNAP.
Anti-hunger and public health advocates have long called for increased SNAP funding, and USDA's own study found that over half of SNAP participants found it difficult to eat healthily because of the lack of affordable foods. This drastic budget cut would worsen food security and increase health care costs over time. Taking food away from children and families to fund a tax break for the wealthy, the prime object of the benefit reductions, is immoral.
In the name of promoting health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has pushed for banning soda purchases with SNAP benefits, a position supported by the USDA. National and state efforts have increasingly aimed to prevent participants from purchasing these items with at least 10 state bills focused on SNAP restrictions introduced this year.
However, there is little evidence showing that removing soda from the program does much to improve diet quality for SNAP participants. And when asked about ways to make the program healthier, people with low incomes, including SNAP users, consistently placed this low on this list. Furthermore, restricting SNAP purchases does nothing to address the root causes of food insecurity — adverse economic conditions and racial inequities.
The Trump administration wants to slash SNAP benefits, take healthy food away from students, and weaken rural economies to pad the pockets of billionaires. These actions do not promote health and instead inflict hardships on people with low incomes. It's high time for the administration to align its alleged commitment to health by restoring and expanding funds to these crucial programs.
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