Food insecurity leaves long-term scars. The Snap cuts are no exception | Priya Fielding-Singh

Even after Snap benefits return, damage will have been done: scarcity leaves trauma in its wake

When I was 13, a pair of foster siblings, Carla and Rodrigo, came to live with my family. For the two of them, the move brought a period of much-needed stability - and, for the very first time, reliable access to food.

Yet scarcity had already left its mark.

Priya Fielding-Singh is the director of policy and programs at the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University and the author of How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America

This article was updated on 13 November 2025 to reflect the end of the US government shutdown.