Tell Congress: Support Families Who Depend on SNAP and WIC

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“The loss of SNAP benefits leads to food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition … Low-income children who go without nutritious food will struggle to learn in classrooms, impacting their educational performance and advancement ... Suspending SNAP benefits also has economic consequences beyond hunger and public health. Without SNAP funds, SNAP recipients will not be able to frequent retailers, causing a significant loss in revenue, increased food waste, and a negative impact on Plaintiff States’ economies overall.”  Lawsuit filed by 25 states against the Trump administration

As the government shutdown drags on, America’s most crucial food assistance programs are on the verge of running out of funds, threatening to suspend support for millions of families, children, and expecting mothers.
 
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) together support nearly 50 million Americans. These programs are lifelines, ensuring access to essentials like nutritious food, breastfeeding support, and infant formula. Yet both programs are quickly running out of funding. Without immediate action from the White House to use contingency funds and other already authorized measures, millions of vulnerable Americans will soon be without food assistance.
 
SNAP and WIC resources have remained available during past shutdowns. But now, state agencies are running out of options to keep families supported. SNAP still has two-thirds of the funding needed to sustain another month of benefits, in resources that are already available under the program’s emergency procedures. Yet, the White House has chosen to withhold these funds and not use additional authorized funding sources to provide the full benefit to families. Similarly, earlier this month, the USDA funded WIC through the end of the month, though advocates warned it was only a short-term fix to keep the program afloat. As the shutdown continues, unless the Administration releases additional funding to cover WIC, the program will run out of money and more will needlessly face hunger and devastating health consequences. This is a policy choice not an unavoidable consequence of the shutdown.
 
This unprecedented decision from the White House is not only harmful, it’s deliberately cruel and unnecessary. By refusing to act, the administration is choosing to inflict avoidable hardship on families already struggling with inflation, rising costs, and record food insecurity. Following the passage of the “Big Ugly Bill,” which imposed the largest SNAP cuts in history, even more Americans are now at risk of losing access to the nutrition assistance they rely on to survive.
 
For an administration that claims to champion the well-being of mothers, children, and working families, this move goes directly against the things it claims to stand for. Parents should not have to choose between paying bills and feeding their children. No mother should have to worry that her newborn might go hungry because of political leaders.
 
Congress must stand up for families. Send a message to lawmakers: they must demand that the White House follow the law by releasing available SNAP funds immediately and exercise its authority to transfer additional funding to WIC and SNAP. Families cannot wait. Americans need support now, not after the damage has been done.

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 43TBE 11/1/25 ▪ 117 West 125th Street ▪ New York, NY 10027 ▪ (212) 558-5300

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