Millions Of U.S. Children Could Go Hungry Next Week If Trump’s Shutdown Persists

Next week, should the government shutdown persist, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) could run out of funding, imperilling food access for 5.3 million children under the age of 5. This follows Trump’s July budget reconciliation bill, which stripped Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from more than 2 million vulnerable Americans.

A new Food & Water Watch map details where the most young children at risk of losing federal food assistance live, should the shutdown continue. After Puerto Rico, where a whopping 76% of children under age 5 rely on WIC food assistance, the top impacted states are:

1. California – 38% of children under five rely on WIC for food assistance
2. New York – 35%
3. Delaware – 34%
4. North Carolina – 34%
5. Kentucky – 33%
6. West Virginia – 32%
7. Oregon – 32%
8. New Mexico – 32%
9. Georgia – 31%
10. Alabama – 31%
11. Vermont – 31%

Congressional Democrats have proposed a short-term appropriations bill to fully fund WIC; Congressional Republicans’ proposal would keep funding flat, amounting to $600 million in cuts over the course of the year when accounting for rising inflation and grocery prices. President Trump announced this week that he would use tariff revenue to fund WIC benefits while debate continues; such a move is likely impossible without an act of Congress to appropriate the funds.

Food & Water Watch Managing Director of Policy and Litigation Mitch Jones issued the following statement:

“Trump and Congressional Republicans have driven America headfirst into a government shutdown. It is poor women and children who will feel the impacts first and worst. Congressional Republicans need to put food back on the table for struggling families by passing a bipartisan spending bill that protects food access.”