In North Carolina, more than one in five children rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to get them the healthy, nutritious foods they need to carry them through each day.
That’s nearly 555,000 children across the state, and includes tens of thousands in Wake County.
Now, that food assistance is under threat.
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration are looking to cut more than $1.5 trillion from federal health, education, and nutrition programs, including—potentially—$230 billion or more from the House Agriculture Committee, which is responsible for administering SNAP, over the next decade.
“This is not just a line item in the budget,” said Representative Sarah Crawford, who represents Wake County in the state house, on a call with reporters today. “It’s a direct threat to the health, stability, and dignity of families across our state.”
Joining Crawford on the call was Wake Representative Julie von Haefen, who said 34,871 children in her state House district would lose food assistance under the proposed cuts outlined in congressional Republicans’ budget resolution that passed the U.S. House in February. Von Haefen, a substitute teacher in Wake County Public Schools, emphasized the connection between hunger and poor academic outcomes.
“I know that kids need a full stomach in order to be able to concentrate, interact, and have a stable emotional mindset to tackle the day,” she said. “We all need that whether we’re kids or adults.”
The threats to food assistance are part of a larger push to cut government spending in order to finance tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit wealthy citizens, said Heba Atwa, director of legislative advocacy and campaigns at the nonprofit, nonpartisan NC Budget and Tax Center.
Atwa emphasized that it’s not clear yet what exactly the cuts to food assistance would look like, but could include lawmakers making the cuts outright, tightening up work requirements in order to receive benefits, or shifting the cost of running SNAP onto states.
“This is absolutely without precedent, asking a state to help fund a federal program like SNAP,” Atwa said. She added that the most recent estimates suggest North Carolina could be asked to cover up to $740 million each year in SNAP benefits if the cuts are fully implemented.
“That’s about the salaries of about 13,000 teachers per year,” Atwa said. “North Carolina can’t afford to subsidize federal tax cuts for the wealthy. Our state is already facing our own revenue shortfalls because of years of state lawmakers choosing to eliminate income taxes for corporations and cutting taxes that disproportionately benefit the wealthy rather than a focus on the needs of people in our state.”
The cuts, Crawford noted, won’t just impact children and working families.
“We have to talk about this proposal as not just failure, but economic malpractice,” she said. “SNAP dollars don’t get hoarded. They are spent immediately in corner stores, supermarkets, farmers’ markets. They support grocers, farm workers, delivery drivers.”
Cutting SNAP, she added, would cause lasting harm to North Carolina families who are already struggling.
“Food Assistance is one of the most effective tools we have to fight hunger, reduce poverty, and support children’s development,” Crawford said. “It’s not a handout. It’s a smart investment in public health and economic strength.”
Crawford and von Haefen said they are lobbying Wake County’s congressional delegation— including Republican congressman Brad Knott, with whom they’re planning to meet next week— to oppose the cuts to SNAP.
“No one has made life better by taking away food from children who need it,” von Haefen said. “The idea that our society should care for its children, all of its children, regardless of their parents’ wealth or poverty, is not novel and should not be controversial.”
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Follow Raleigh Editor Jane Porter on X or send an email to jporter@indyweek.com.