Bread Welcomes Senate Bill Funding Nutrition Programs

Washington, D.C., July 11, 2025 – Bread for the World released the following statement on the unanimous passage of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The statement can be attributed to Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World:

“Bread for the World enthusiastically welcomes this bill, which funds key nutrition programs that support children and families while also benefiting U.S. farmers. With hunger still on the rise in the U.S. and as the world continues to experience the worst hunger and nutrition crisis in a generation, Bread urges both the Senate and House to pass it.

“The Senate bill fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), while the bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee does not. It also funds Food for Peace and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program at higher levels than the House Appropriations Committee bill. However, funding for Food for Peace in comparison to last year would drop from $1.619 billion in fiscal year 2025 to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2026. Funding for McGovern-Dole would remain steady in comparison to the last fiscal year at $240 million. The White House has proposed defunding both programs.

“Fully funding WIC will ensure that all families who qualify for the program will be able to participate in it. WIC participation is critical to the health and well-being of low-income mothers, babies, and young children. It enables families to purchase nutritious foods and provides health care referrals and information on healthy eating. This bill will also fully fund the WIC cash value voucher (CVV) program, which helps families purchase fruits and vegetables with their benefits, giving young kids the nutrition boost they need to develop.

“Food for Peace purchases and ships U.S. agricultural products around the world to address hunger emergencies. It fosters economic development in countries and regions that will benefit from this investment, and it strengthens U.S. diplomacy and national security. Since President Dwight Eisenhower signed Food for Peace into law over 70 years ago, it has reached more than four billion people in 150 countries with emergency humanitarian food and nutrition assistance provided by U.S. farmers.

“The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program provides U.S. agricultural commodities and financial and technical assistance to lower-income countries to establish school feeding programs. In FY 2023, the program delivered nutritious school meals to more than 2.5 million food-insecure children in 34 countries.

“The fact that members of the Appropriations Committee negotiated this bill in a bipartisan manner and that it passed unanimously is an encouraging sign. Historically, funding for hunger and nutrition programs has been approved with bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Even in these challenging times, this bill gives me hope that providing adequate funding for vital nutrition programs will once again be something in which Republicans and Democrats work on together and support.”