Kids Should NEVER Go Hungry
Choosing to leave kids' plates empty is a moral and political failure
My basic philosophy of what government should do starts with this:
Make sure every child is being fed
That’s why I was thrilled to see this lunch price list from my kid’s school a few years ago.
Those “FREE” prices reflect a change California implemented in the 2022-23 school year, making school meals free for every student. That’s a big deal, because California is huge, and its schools serve over 5.8 Million students every day. Since then, other states have passed similar policies, recognizing the benefits of universal school meals. I would like to see this change implemented across the country.
Providing universal school meals is basically the opposite of what the federal government is doing right now. 42 million people in the U.S, including more than 16 million children, rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to stay fed. It’s the largest federal anti-hunger initiative, and The Trump administration is refusing to fully finance it.
As you result, millions of low-income Americans will see staggering cuts and delays to their food stamps this month — with some potentially receiving nothing at all.
To get a sense of how that plays out in real people’s lives, I recommend listening to this episode of The Daily podcast:
Our communities thrive when everyone can put healthy food on the table. When families use SNAP, students come to school with full bellies and, in turn, do better in school.
The benefits of SNAP don’t stop in childhood: Adults who used SNAP as children have lower risks of heart disease as adults, which means SNAP saves lives.
The ripple effects show up everywhere: When families swipe their EBT card at the market, grocers order more produce and keep their cashiers employed, farmers sell more crops, and truck drivers keep the supply chain moving.
Funding SNAP is a commonsense solution that not only keeps people fed, but fuels the economic well-being of our communities: Every SNAP dollar stretches even further — growing into $1.50-$1.80 of economic activity, like grocery sales, jobs, and community spending, in our neighborhoods.
Our communities are stronger when they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, so they can look after their health and well-being.
Allowing hunger to deepen during a shutdown is not an inevitability; it is a policy choice. The Trump administration’s USDA should use its authority to keep food aid flowing, just as the agency has done in previous shutdowns.
Everyone Needs To Eat
When Joanna Schroeder and I do Talk To Your Boys presentations for parents, they often ask questions about their teens’ challenging behaviors. We have a lot of suggestions, but we always start by reminding families to focus on the basics first. We know that people who aren’t getting enough sleep, movement, and food often struggle to concentrate and regulate their behavior. I worry that these SNAP cuts will cause real trouble in schools.
I appreciate the thoughts of “non-diet dietitian” Shana Minei Spence here, who always reminds readers that “Fed Is Best.” She understands that, while it may be tempting to get drawn into debates about issues like processed vs. unprocessed foods, the very first thing we need to do when people are hungry is feed them.
Here’s my bottom line: everyone needs to eat, and making sure everyone has access to food makes our society demonstrably better. If you’re a leader and you want me to vote or campaign for you, a “no hungry kids” pledge is a great place to start.
What You Can Do To Help
In closing, I want to amplify this request from writer and organizer Garrett Bucks:
In the spirit of feeding each other, please step up for your local food bank this week. We deserve a country where we don’t need food banks anymore, but we’re not there yet. So please, give money if you’re able, volunteer if you’re able and, just in general, look for opportunities to feed one another right now.
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At the most basic level, the least we can do is make sure every person has food. I loved that you echoed a similar response that I would share with parents about getting sleep, activity outside, and food, then we would dive right into how we talked about nutrition in class: https://fitzm.substack.com/p/who-deserves-to-eat