Resistance to safety net programs like the expanded child tax credit, SNAP and WIC is rooted in racist, misogynistic, tired and offensive stereotypes that blame and shame people, rather than help them when they need it most.
Frankly, these were policies that had long been priorities for the anti-hunger movement, and the sense of urgency conferred on policymakers by the pandemic finally allowed them to be realized. And it worked—even during a time of unprecedented hunger. As the many crises precipitated by the pandemic began to resolve , the rate of hungry Americans returned to the “normal” egregious number of about 34 million.
Nutrition safety net programs work. Government intervention can work. We have seen that temporary improvements, benefit boosts, and flexibilities can help reverse the course of hunger in this country—but too often these are temporary fixes for challenges that require permanent systemic changes. My organizationWe should not have to beg lawmakers to fund federal programs like WIC that curb hunger, improve birth outcomes, reduce infant mortality and promote healthy growth and child development.
Don’t get me wrong. We are thrilled that we prevailed in getting sufficient funding for programs like WIC, but it should have been easy—not an endless effort during which we had to dodge other “poison pill” amendments that sought to push a horrifying misogynist agenda that House Republicans know are otherwise DOA in this country.
This strategy is being led by a fundamentalist notion of gender roles: Women care for children, while men work. This view of women is antithetical to women as people.