🍎USDA cuts WIC benefits 75% through regulatory interpretation

Federal food assistance elimination forces families to choose between rent and food while children lose access to adequate nutrition during critical development years. Working families, elderly, and disabled Americans face hunger while grocery stores and farmers lose billions in revenue from federal programs that support both consumers and agricultural producers.

SNAP and WIC dollars flow directly into grocery stores, farmers' markets, and food retailers that depend on federal nutrition spending for revenue. Program cuts reduce local business income while increasing demand for expensive emergency food services that cost more to operate than prevention programs that keep families fed.

Adequate food access reduces expensive emergency room visits, chronic disease treatment, and special education needs for malnourished children. Healthcare costs increase dramatically when families cannot afford proper nutrition, shifting expenses from prevention programs to treatment systems that cost taxpayers more long-term.

Communities with strong nutrition programs experience better public safety, school performance, and family stability than areas where hunger persists. Program elimination creates social problems that require expensive law enforcement, special education, and social services responses that cost more than preventing food insecurity through direct assistance.