From myamericannurse.com: “The One Big Beautiful Bill is already reshaping federal nutrition policy. As Congress prepares to debate the next Farm Bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces sweeping changes that could cut billions from the program, reduce access for millions of households, and deepen food insecurity.
Laura Samuel, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, has studied SNAP, food insecurity, and financial strain for nearly 2 decades. She shares what the evidence shows, why proposed changes raise red flags, and what she wants policymakers to understand.”
“The evidence shows that SNAP reduces food insecurity and lowers healthcare use. Participants are more likely to take prescribed medications, have lower risks of diabetes and hypertension, and experience fewer diabetes-related hospital visits…
There’s also a misconception that SNAP has high fraud rates. In reality, error rates are low, and most errors are small over- or underpayments caused by changes in households, not misuse. Framing this as fraud is misleading and using it to justify cost-sharing is shortsighted. Cutting SNAP doesn’t save money—it shifts costs onto health systems, Medicare, and Medicaid…
The new work requirements pose challenges, especially for families with children and people with disabilities. Many SNAP recipients already work, often full-time, but still earn below the poverty line. Extending requirements to households with children as young as 7 years forces impossible choices when childcare is unaffordable. Expanding them to older adults adds another barrier, since many face health limitations that restrict the work they can do…
Policymakers need to see SNAP for what it is: critical to keeping families healthy and children learning, now and in the future.”
You can read this excellent article in it’s entirety here: https://www.myamericannurse.com/sweeping-changes-to-snap-could-make-food-insecurity-more-acute-3-questions-for-dr-laura-samuel/
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, (SNAP), is a net positive for our nation. Economies are boosted, health outcomes and educational outcomes improve as well.
Dr. Samuel points out clearly and succinctly why cutting SNAP will have such a broad negative impact on our society. Poorer health, more stress on families struggling to get by, worsened educational outcomes and a loss of access to food are all known outcomes of the budget cuts signed into law by President Trump in his Big Beautiful Bill.
It will be more expensive for states to administer SNAP. This additional cost will affect all of us.
The science and documented history are there for anyone to see. Sadly, thanks to the Trump administration’s decision to end food insecurity studies we will have less information to work with going forward. You can read about it here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/21/health/hunger-reports-usda
The war against the poor continues. The wealthy receive tax breaks, farmers are hoping to be bailed out by the government due to the impact of Trump’s tariffs but the poor are told to make due.
What are your thoughts?
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