Access to nutritious and culturally appropriate food, particularly in early childhood, is essential for keeping current and future generations healthy throughout their lives. However, millions of Americans are food insecure and lack consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity can result in a number of severe health consequences, and disproportionately affects families with low incomes, families with children, and communities of color.

Nutrition assistance programs can help alleviate food insecurity and its health consequences. To maximize the impact of nutrition assistance programs, necessary improvements include increasing access and ensuring benefits and funding is adequate to meet nutritional needs. 

However, these programs alone are not enough to eliminate food insecurity. Investment must be made in policies and strategies that strengthen the federal nutrition programs, address the root causes of food insecurity, and promote equity.

Policy Goals

• Reduce barriers to enrollment and participation in federal nutrition assistance programs and streamline access through optimized enrollment of eligible families.
• Expand income and other eligibility requirements for federal nutrition programs and eliminate all asset tests.
• Increase funding for and benefit levels of federal nutrition programs to ensure benefits accurately reflect the real cost of healthy foods and adequately meet household’s needs.
• Ensure that children have access to healthy meals while in school and child care and during out-of-school months.
• Improve outreach and awareness to ensure that all families receive the benefits for which they are eligible.
• Promote and invest in opportunities to streamline enrollment and eligibility across public assistance programs.

In July 2025, Congress enacted the largest cuts to SNAP in the program’s history. These cuts will have profound and lasting consequences on millions of children nationwide. Reducing or removing families’ access to SNAP will deepen poverty and increase food insecurity.

Children’s HealthWatch strongly supports the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act, which would fully repeal these harmful cuts. While advocating for federal repeal, we are also working with national and state partners to mitigate the impacts on children and ensure they continue to have reliable access to nutritious food.

Read our doctor-approved recommendations to improve and strengthen WIC and CACFP.