Update: USDA revised their #SNAP contingency fund plan to provide households with a larger share of their November benefits. This is an important but inadequate step. Families need their full benefits to afford groceries & the Administration has the authority to provide them.

USDA is cutting SNAP benefits far more than necessary. #WIC benefits are still flowing, but WIC is a supplemental program. WIC participants who rely on SNAP for basic groceries & to feed other family members are likely to struggle to get enough to eat. Details⬇️

As @TyJonesCox explains, millions of children are paying the price for the Administration’s failure to follow the law, do basic planning & use all available options to get full November #SNAP benefits out, but it's not too late to get full benefits to all participants.

The Administration should take all available legal steps to keep #SNAP and #WIC benefits flowing and services uninterrupted during the shutdown.

Apparently House Speaker Johnson described #WIC as having shut down today. That’s not true. USDA has made clear that WIC has some federal funding to stay open for now & states can keep it open when that runs out. (I expect that will be in about 2 weeks, depending on the state.)

Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.

Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.

USDA’s shutdown plan says that #WIC “shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding.” www.usda.gov/sites/defaul...

NEW: Despite White House statements implying that #WIC benefits for low-income families would be immediately disrupted if the government partially shuts down this week, the Trump Administration & state officials have several steps they could & should take to keep WIC running.

Very appreciative of the opportunity to talk about how effective and important #WIC is with champions of young children gathered by @raisingillinois.bsky.social. www.raisingillinois.org/raising-our-...

Not measuring food insecurity doesn't actually help people get enough to eat. There's so much we could do to to help. Understanding the problem makes responses more effective.

It’s been reported that Congress might attach the ag appropriations bill—which funds the #WIC nutrition assistance program for families with young children & low incomes—to a stopgap funding measure that needs to be passed by the end of the month. punchbowl.news/article/wash...

Important update on WIC funding⬇️ As the appropriations process unfolds, it will be critical for policymakers to adopt the Senate's approach--providing enough funding for all eligible families who seek help to be served & receive the full fruit & vegetable benefit.

If you work on #schoolmeals, you might be interested in the ramifications of the school voucher proposal in the Senate GOP reconciliation plan on public schools.

House Republicans are advancing a bill that would cut WIC's fruit & vegetable benefit for toddlers & new or expecting parents, and still doesn't have enough funding to serve everyone who's eligible and expected to apply. Here are some details . . .