Food insecurity, defined as lack of access to food for an active, healthy life due to financial constraints, is a persistent but preventable challenge that adversely affects the health and well-being of children and their families nationwide.
- In 2025, nearly a quarter (25%) of households in our unique data set experienced food insecurity.
- Before the pandemic, SNAP participation among families with young children was steadily declining.
- During the pandemic, changes to SNAP policy made the program more generous and accessible. As a result, there was a dramatic national reduction in families losing benefits.
- In July 2025, H.R.1 introduced several significant changes to SNAP that reduce accessibility. This has and will continue to reduce eligible families’ participation, despite evidence that more generous, accessible nutrition assistance is both feasible and effective.
Children’s HealthWatch has prepared policy briefs for each of these cities. Access downloadable PDFs of the briefs by clicking the links below: