Consumer Federation of America’s 2026 National Food Policy Conference captured both the spirit and complexity of food policy in America. It offered a valuable snapshot at the emerging issues, priorities, and threats to securing a healthy food future for Americans.
In a plenary session titled “Food Assistance in Transition,” panelists discussed SNAP reforms tied to H.R. 1, including expanded work requirements, increased administrative burdens on states, and stricter penalties for payment errors.
This panel was moderated by Dr. Sara Bleich, the inaugural Vice Provost of Special Projects at Harvard University, and attended by Randy Alison Aussenberg of the Congressional Research Service, Radha Muthiah of the Capital Area Food Bank, and Angela Rachidi of the American Enterprise Institute. Some panelists, like Muthiah and Aussenberg highlighted how the incoming H.R. 1 policy changes would increase the financial and logistical burden on states, with trickle down effects on SNAP participants, while others, like Rachidi argued that stricter incentives to improve how SNAP functions on state-by-state basis would lead to long-term program efficiency and effectiveness within SNAP.
What stood out to me most was the tension between efficiency and equity, embodied by the varying opinions among the panelists. SNAP is, at its core, an anti-poverty program. The changes to SNAP on a legislative level come at a time of ballooning food costs, increasing federal uncertainty, and a mounting threat on many public programs that provide essential services to the most vulnerable Americans. Higher rates of food insecurity, increased pressure on charitable food organizations, household level financial crisis can all be expected when millions of Americans are no longer eligible for SNAP due to a combination of states shifting their program priorities or abiding by federal policies.
Despite some fundamental differences, most of those in the food policy space have an end goal of making Americans healthier and getting better food on their plates. However, it’s clear to me now that there is a complex path to take to preserve the integrity of federal nutrition programs, without compromising the support that it provides to households across the nation. Anyone with any influence or jurisdiction in food policy must intentionally make people-centered decisions in program policy. Dignity in healthy food access is not optional, and that starts by ensuring that SNAP resources are available to anyone who is in need. The way I see it, it is simply not acceptable to cut millions off from a lifeline in the name of program efficiency.