Congressional Republicans propose cutting WIC by $200 million

Apr 30, 2026

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WASHINGTON — At the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference in Washington on Monday, one advocate vowed to increase access to nutrition programs in Wisconsin.

“We want people to have access to healthy and nutritious meals, and in order to do that, they need to be able to afford those meals,” said Reno Wright, the advocacy director for the Hunter Task Force, a food bank and anti-hunger organization in West Milwaukee.

He said a proposal by a House subcommittee to reduce federal funding for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition assistance program by $200 million in the next budget year could be “devastating.”

“There are about 75,000 Wisconsinites who will be affected if these cuts were to take place,” Wright said, referring to an estimate from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The proposed cut was debated in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. It was approved by a vote of 35 to 25.

“In a setting of $2 trillion deficits, these modest spending reductions are necessary,” said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland.

“How on earth does ending their access to healthy food help make America healthy again?” asked Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia.

The legislation also doesn’t make virtual services permanent. That means WIC recipients in rural areas could be forced to visit their closest clinic as early as October.

“It will not take away from the information that they have to provide in order to determine their eligibility,” Wright said. “So why not allow people who may have transportation barriers to get access to be able to actually apply for these programs virtually, if necessary?”

The Food Research and Action Center, which advocates for anti-hunger policies, argues that the cut to WIC would deepen America’s hunger crisis. Crystal FitzSimons, the president of FRAC, suggested lawmakers go back to the drawing board to boost WIC dollars and restore funding for the principal federal nutrition assistance program known as SNAP, which suffered a $187 billion cut in last year’s tax and spending law shepherded by Republicans.

“We should be investing in ensuring that people have access to the nutritious food that they need, and so many families are facing an affordability crisis when they go to the grocery store,” FitzSimons said. “WIC has an important role to play in supporting families, and we need to make sure that it has the funding it needs.”

Wright said rising grocery prices and last year’s cut to SNAP have hurt Wisconsin residents greatly.

“There’s also been an increase in pantry traffic of about 35%, so we know that the need is still there,” Wright said.

It is not clear whether the proposed cut to WIC will win congressional approval. Anti-hunger advocates say they will work to make sure it does not.

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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said SNAP suffered a $187 million cut in last year’s tax and spending law. This error has been corrected to reflect that it was a $187 billion cut. (April 30, 2026)

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Source: https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2026/04/29/wic-cut-appropriations-hunger

Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee’s Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader. The organization provides healthy and nutritious food to hungry children, families and seniors in the community absolutely free of charge. Hunger Task Force was founded in 1974 by a local advocacy group who then formed Milwaukee’s first food bank. Today, Hunger Task Force is 100% supported by the community and provides a safety net of emergency food with dignity to a network of 75 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Through legislative analysis, education and community organizing, Hunger Task Force continues to advocate for anti-hunger policy at the local, state and federal level.