WASHINGTON (March 8, 2024) The Alliance to End Hunger applauds Congress on their negotiation and passage of an agreement protecting crucial nutrition programs including WIC and SNAP. Legislation appropriating funds for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies includes full funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Child Nutrition Programs; and protects food choice for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.
The WIC program – which serves 7 million mothers and children nationwide with nutrition and other health support – has been under immense stress as demand has grown. The proposed $1 billion increase in WIC funding over FY23 levels will help to meet this increase in demand. Further, full funding for Child Nutrition programming will ensure the continuation of nearly 8 billion school lunches and breakfasts, as well as Summer EBT. Finally, pilots to explore further restricting food choice in SNAP were avoided in the negotiated package, ensuring flexibility to 42 million individuals in the program as they work to make ends meet on a daily basis.
“This negotiated appropriations package is a huge win for families across the country working to keep food on their tables, and especially for mothers and their children during a critical point in both physical and mental development” stated Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger. “While there is still much that policymakers in Washington disagree on, this gives me hope that we can at least agree that families should have nobody going to bed hungry.”
