For the Common Good: USDA Food and Nutrition Service

Welcome to the latest edition of Women Employed’s series, For the Common Good, where we break down important issues that impact working women and their families — including the roles and the work of key federal agencies, departments, and programs — cut through the rhetoric, and provide actions you can take to make an impact.

You may have heard that Congress is negotiating a budget proposal from the Administration that will necessitate massive cuts to a range of federal programs, including an estimated $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Both of these programs are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Food and Nutrition Service is also facing severe layoffs — the newest victim of the Trump administration’s ongoing directives to gut the federal workforce.

The Food and Nutrition Service’s programs set families up for success, including many working families, seniors, and most of all — kids. These programs help hard-working Americans with low-paid jobs eat, and ensure pregnant moms and infants can obtain food that results in better health (and lower healthcare costs for all of us).

Have you heard of the Food and Nutrition Service and its impactful, critical programs? Watch this short video for 3 things YOU need to know. Then keep reading to learn more about their work, and to TAKE ACTION.

The Food and Nutrition Service’s Mission and Work

The mission of the Food and Nutrition Service is to increase nutrition security and reduce hunger in partnership with food banks, schools, food pantries, farmers markets, grocery stores, states, counties, tribes and many others. The Agency’s programs enable kids and people with low-incomes — many of them working — to be able to eat, enjoy a healthy diet, and learn about nutrition in a manner that supports American farmers and inspires public confidence. Because no one in America should have to go hungry.

They operate 16 programs, including nutrition assistance for seniors (many of whom receive as little as $25 a month), school breakfast and lunch, the emergency food assistance program that provides food and funding to food banks and pantries, disaster assistance (when there are hurricanes, floods and fires), and more. Two of their most well-known and important programs are SNAP and WIC.

SNAP provides food benefits to families earning low incomes to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being. The word ‘supplement’ is key. SNAP doesn’t provide participants with benefits that allow them to purchase all the food they need — just a portion. SNAP also provides nutrition education and job training to help participants build a career.

SNAP reaches our most vulnerable neighbors, including seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children. Many of them work — but they work in low-paid jobs that don’t provide a living wage.

WIC promotes healthy births and early child development by providing science-based food tailored to what kids need to grow up healthy and perform better in school and life, and to have fewer health problems which benefits ALL of us.

And WIC offers health screenings, breastfeeding support, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women and children up to age 5. The program is a cost-effective investment in future generations, resulting in kids that grow up healthier and perform better in school and life.

SNAP and WIC help working families eat so they can remain healthy and strong, which also allows them to continue working. Nationally, over 42 million people receive SNAP or WIC — over 2 million in Illinois.

Want to learn more about SNAP, WIC, and the Food and Nutrition Service? Take a deeper dive in part 2 of our video, featuring WE’s Senior Development Officer Amanda Sousa.

So, what’s at risk if we cut funding for these programs?

• Cutting these programs will leave millions hungry and suffering from poor health — which will result in costs we’ll all pay in the future through less healthy workers, and kids who have more health problems and don’t perform as well at school.
• Grocers, American farmers, and companies and workers across the economy will also suffer, since SNAP and WIC benefits are spent purchasing food at local grocery stores and farmers markets.

What can YOU do to make an impact?

Have less than 5 minutes?

• Share this post with your community, and make sure they know about the important work of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. Just hit the share button at the top of the article!

Have 5–10 minutes?

• Call your federal legislators. Demand they vote NO on cuts to SNAP, WIC, and other programs that working families need to survive and thrive. Here’s a suggested call script: My name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, STATE]. As your constituent, I urge you to vote NO on any federal budget cuts to SNAP, WIC, and other programs working families need to survive and thrive. These cost-effective programs play a crucial role in reducing poverty, improving health and economic outcomes, and supporting rural communities. Millions of families need these programs to ensure they get the nutrition they need to stay healthy and strong. Nobody should go hungry in America. Please reject these cuts.
• Don’t know who your officials are, or how to reach them? Here’s a great tool for finding your U.S. Senators and Representative! (And here’s a hot tip: program your legislators’ numbers into your phone to make it even easier to call them! And an even hotter tip: program their local district numbers AND their DC or Springfield numbers as well so that they can hear from you no matter where they are!)
• Sign up for Women Employed’s Action Network. We are constantly monitoring the landscape to help cut through the rhetoric. We’ll email you with concrete actions that will make a difference and we’ll also send new issues of For the Common Good to keep you informed.
• Make a gift to Women Employed to support this work.

Have a half hour?

• Subscribe to our For the Common Good series here on Medium, and visit the landing page on our website.
• While you’re on Medium, read through Women Employed’s recent posts to learn more about the issues.
• Know your local, state, and federal workplace rights―and make sure people in your community do too. And if you’re an immigrant worker, check out your workplace rights as well, courtesy of our partners at Arise Chicago, in English and in Spanish.
• Protect and care for yourself. Our friends at Supermajority have resources to help.

Have 1–2 hours a month?

• Join our Advocacy Council and attend our monthly meetings.

For the Common Good is a series where Women Employed breaks down the administration’s actions, as well as important issues that impact working women and their families — including the roles and the work of key federal agencies, departments, and programs — and what you can do to make an impact.