By Carol J. Williams
Special to The Day

Published: Nov 01, 2025

Today, thousands of hardworking Connecticut residents lose all or part of their SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Even if a federal shutdown is avoided, the H.R. 1 Act passed in July guarantees steep cuts to food security programs across the state.

Right now, more than 360,000 people in Connecticut — nearly 10% of our population — rely on SNAP to help feed their families. That includes 215,000 households and over 120,000 children. For many, these benefits aren’t extras — they’re what stand between dinner and an empty plate.

Connecticut can take a simple, effective step to soften the blow: reinstate free school meals for all children — breakfast, lunch and a healthy snack. The universal meal program during the COVID-19 pandemic was a proven success, easing family budgets and ensuring no child went hungry. Restoring the program would cost the state approximately $70 million — just a fraction of the projected surplus.

During COVID, the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut launched the Neighbors for Neighbors Fund to respond quickly to hunger and housing insecurity, distributing over $1.5 million through trusted nonprofit partners. We saw firsthand how rapidly need can grow — and how effective universal school meals were in meeting it.

But emergency efforts like these were designed to bridge a crisis, not to replace long-term public investment. If deep federal cuts go unaddressed at the state level, the impact will be broader, more staggering and longer lasting — far beyond what community-based interventions are meant to carry.

With a projected budget surplus of over $300 million and a “rainy day” fund exceeding $4.3 billion, Connecticut has both the means and the moral responsibility to act. Food insecurity is not abstract — it’s families skipping meals to pay rent, parents watering down milk and children struggling to learn on empty stomachs.

We can afford this. Let’s use our surplus to keep families fed, classrooms focused and communities strong.

Carol J. Williams is a trustee of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and a retired associate dean at Eastern Connecticut State University.