by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Sen. Chris Murphy warned of an impending food crisis facing the nation’s children Monday morning due to funding cuts to critical food programs in the recently passed Republican budget bill.
Murphy was joined by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, former US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and community advocates at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
“There is a coming food crisis for kids this school year,” Murphy said. “There’s going to be fewer kids getting food in school, and there are going to be more kids showing up to school hungry, and going to bed at night hungry, because of the unconscionable cuts in the Republican budget bill to the food stamps program.”
According to Murphy, 18 million children in the country could lose access to free school meals due to cuts to both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the recently passed Republican budget bill.
Sen. Blumenthal said that while there are many euphemisms to describe the current challenges, the bottom line is that kids all around the country will be going hungry this upcoming school year.
“Concentrating the mind on geography or geometry is almost impossible if you have a gnawing pain in the pit of your stomach which is hunger,” Blumenthal said. “Let’s not use any euphemisms when we’re talking about the health of our children.”
Blumenthal also said that Trump’s tariffs have harmed American families as they go back to school shopping and face price increases on everything from juice boxes to calculators.
“He promised a Liberation Day. For students, it is an inflation imprisonment day,” Blumenthal said. “Everything they need for school is going to cost more. Not just a couple of percentage points, but 15-, 20-, 30-, 5- percent more, hollowing out household budgets that ordinarily would go to new clothing or supplies, food, and other real essentials for education.”
Secretary Cardona, who worked in education in Connecticut for more than 20 years, described the other impacts that the budget bill will have on education. He said the bill would lead to the loss of needed services, such as reading specialists and after-school programs.
“This bill that’s been referenced significantly reduces investment in public education,” he said. “It cuts billions from Title I dollars, which support more than 26 million students from low-income communities. It impacts more significantly the 7.5 million students with disabilities across our country. It impacts more significantly the 10 million students living in rural communities across our country. The 5 million students learning English across our country, and the 1.1 million students who are experiencing homelessness across our country.”
The activists who joined the federal leaders brought the reality of the food challenges home to Connecticut. Julieth Callejas, executive director of End Hunger CT!, said more than 12,000 Connecticut students will lose access to free lunch due to policy changes that reinstated the reduced price lunch fee. Callejas said that can add up to $1,200 per year per child.
“In a state that is so full of wealth and opportunities, our children should not be worrying about their meals,” Callejas said.
Angel of Edgewood, a nonprofit based in Hartford that fights poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness in the Greater Hartford area, recently hosted its back-to-school extravaganza. Executive Director Jendayi Scott-Miller said the event usually draws about 2,000 families but over 3,000 families attended the event this year due to increased need, even as tariffs negatively impacted the organization’s ability to provide fresh food to attendees.
According to Scott-Miller, Angel of Edgewood distributed 6,071 pounds of fresh produce at the event, which is down from the amount of food they have provided in years past.
“For the first time, our distributors could not match our purchase requests because of skyrocketing costs and tariffs,” she said. “When children are starting the school year with less food on their tables, we are not just failing them; we are failing our future. “
In a statement released Monday afternoon, House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, criticized both Blumenthal and Murphy as career politicians who were “totally ineffective” while costs rose under former President Joe Biden, and who also opposed Trump’s tax cuts.
“Now, all of a sudden, these senators are outraged about the price of goods and services, while also acting like kids were thriving in classrooms when their party controlled the agenda in Washington,” he said. “Instead of political theater, these senators should deliver results. They could start by removing barriers to natural gas expansion to our state, which would directly lower electric bills for families already stretched thin. Parents need relief from skyrocketing energy costs, not more fake hustle.”