When the federal government chose to slash $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, it wasn’t just trimming a budget line, it was abandoning families and dismantling one of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty tools.
At the Hispanic Health Council, we’ve already seen what this means on the ground. We were forced to lay off our SNAP-funded nutrition educators and outreach staff who are trusted community members, often bilingual and culturally competent, who helped SNAP recipients stretch $10 a day to cover healthy meals, connected seniors to food delivery programs, and guided parents through summer EBT so children didn’t go hungry when school was out.
These were not expendable jobs; they were the backbone of health equity in our neighborhoods.
These cuts are not neutral. They are a political choice, and their consequences are clear: limited access to nutritious food, heightened psychological stress, and the erosion of the very supportive infrastructure designed to stabilize families.
Across Connecticut, almost one in 10 households depend on SNAP. When funding is slashed at this scale, the ripple effects are immediate. Families face impossible choices: rent or groceries, fresh produce or filler foods, health or survival. The health costs are unavoidable: diets shift toward cheaper, less nutritious foods, fueling chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
Childhood development suffers when nutrition is unstable, meaning today’s decisions under the current Trump administration will reverberate for generations.
And SNAP is only the beginning. The so-called “big beautiful bill” contains additional cuts and restrictions that will further dismantle the safety net. Medicaid eligibility is being tightened, threatening health coverage for millions of low-income families. New work requirements and restrictions are being layered onto basic programs, making it harder for people to access the very supports that help them stay healthy, stable, and employed. Together, these changes form a clear pattern: the federal government is shifting costs onto individuals, families, and communities, while weakening the very programs meant to protect them.
The consequences of this pattern are not abstract – they are lived. Food insecurity and the fear of losing health coverage are forms of trauma. They fuel anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Taking away both benefits and trusted staff risks deepening mental health crises in households already stretched to the breaking point. Every call we take from a parent who cannot feed their child or fill a prescription is not just a statistic, it is a moment of anguish that no family should have to endure in a nation with our level of wealth.
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Food is a basic human right. SNAP has never been a luxury, nor a handout. It is one of the most studied, most effective programs at reducing poverty, improving health outcomes, and saving lives. Its success has always extended beyond recipients: stronger schools, more stable neighborhoods, healthier economies. When you invest in families, entire communities rise. By gutting SNAP and other safety nets such as access to healthcare via Medicaid, the Trump administration has not just reduced benefits, it is actively reversing decades of progress and undermining the conditions that allow families and neighborhoods to thrive.
At the Hispanic Health Council, we are doing everything possible to hold the line. In the short term, that means leaning on food pantries, mutual aid, and community partnerships to soften the blow. But we are clear-eyed: community resilience is not a substitute for federal responsibility. Local action can help fill gaps but it cannot carry the weight of a dismantled safety net.
That is why the long-term solution must be political. These cuts must be reversed, and federal investment in SNAP, Medicaid, and related programs must be expanded, not gutted. If our leaders are serious about reducing health inequities, curbing the soaring costs of chronic disease, and building stronger, more resilient communities, then they must fund the programs that make all of this possible.
We know more cuts are coming, and we are preparing our communities to hold one another through them. But resilience also means fighting back. Our struggle rests at the federal level, but it demands our continued engagement through advocacy, accountability, and community action to restore the safety net and safeguard the dignity, health, and opportunity every family deserves.
Ken Barela, a Hartford resident and CEO of the Hispanic Health Council, has over 35 years of leadership in the nonprofit, healthcare, and human services sectors. Under Barela, HHC created the National Hispanic Health Research Institute (NHHRI).
