House passes bill that would cut program providing fruit and veggies for kids, new moms

Food banks and anti-hunger groups across the country are speaking out against a proposed cut to a federal program that helps children, pregnant women and new moms get fruits and vegetables. 

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on June 4 narrowly passed an agriculture appropriations bill that would cut $141 million in benefits for nearly 5.4 million toddlers, preschoolers and pregnant and postpartum women who use the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

A coalition of 343 national, state, and community groups wrote to House leaders on June 1 that the Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, has received bipartisan support for more than three decades and needs full funding to provide nutritious food during the most essential stages of a child’s development. 

Some House Republicans said the bill provides enough funding because program participation is down, the Washington Post reported. “With lowered participation estimates and increased carryover funding, $8 billion will fully fund the program,” Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, said during a floor debate. “Let me say it one more time. Despite what the naysayers will claim, WIC is fully funded. No woman or their children will lose or be denied coverage.”

Advocates and experts disputed those numbers, telling the Post that the data covers a period that includes the fall government shutdown, which lowered participation. They said program participation has increased in recent years, and rising grocery prices are expected to cause more people to use the program, too.

The bill was approved by a vote of 213-210 in the House. Iowa Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn and Randy Feenstra voted yes. None of the lawmakers immediately responded to a request for comment for this story.

Paige Chickering is the Iowa state manager for Save the Children Action Network, an advocacy group that focuses on early childhood education, childcare and child hunger. She is also the vice chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition. 

Chickering told the Iowa Independent: “We’re very concerned about any cuts to federal nutrition programs, but in particular cuts to WIC, as it so specifically targets pregnant mothers, postpartum mothers, and infants and young children under the age of 5. We see it as one of the most effective tools we have in our policy belt to be able to address child nutrition in the United States, as well as right here in Iowa.” 

The Senate has yet to consider the bill. She hopes the final version of the legislation does not include the $141 million cut. 

She said that the state has about 62,000 participants in the Women, Infants and Children program and noted that, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the proposed fruit and vegetable benefit cut would affect about 48,000 participants in Iowa. 

Chickering said the program has proven successful in decreasing childhood obesity, improving health and ensuring that young children and mothers have the food and nutritional education they need. 

The proposed cut to fruit and vegetable benefits comes about a year after President Donald Trump’s budget law included a projected $186 billion cut to federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, the largest cut in the program’s history. 

Chickering said community groups, including churches and food pantries, cannot replace the impact of these federal programs, because for every one meal provided by charitable organizations, SNAP provides about nine. 

“At this time when we are seeing nutrition supports being cut across the country, across Iowa, making additional cuts to a program that specifically helps to support nutrition for mothers, infants, and young children, I think that’s moving us in the wrong direction,” she said. “We really need to ensure that everyone who needs nutrition assistance is able to gain access to the federal supports we have at our disposal.”

In an April press release, the National WIC Association told Congress, “Families are counting on you to protect the support they rely on every day.”

“The House proposal fails WIC families when they need help most. At a time when food costs are skyrocketing and families are facing deep economic uncertainty, this bill would reduce overall WIC funding and slash fruit and vegetable benefits for mothers and young children,” said National WIC Association president and CEO Georgia Mitchell in the release. “It would force WIC to turn away eligible families for the first time in 30 years, breaking Congress’ 30-year bipartisan commitment to full WIC funding.”