Cutting funding for food banks and schools is simply cruel

Boo wasn't afraid of monsters. In “Monsters, Inc.,” a popular Disney animated film, the wide-eyed, giggling little girl toddled fearlessly through a world of towering, furry creatures — completely unfazed by their fangs, claws, or booming voices. The only thing that scared her was Randall, the lurking, slithering villain who threatened her safety.

- Anthony Hernandez, Tribune News Service

I once met a little girl just like Boo. She was about three years old, her hair tied up in tiny ponytails, her eyes filled with curiosity. At a food site I visited during my evaluation of the USDA's Summer Food Service Programme (SFSP), she struggled to climb onto the picnic bench, her small hands gripping the edge as she hoisted herself up. When she finally settled, she shared something no child should ever have to say: “When I stay with my dad, we don't always eat lunch.”

Unlike Boo, the monsters in her world weren't make-believe. Her Randall wasn’t a shadowy figure hiding in a closet — it was food insecurity and hunger.

And unlike the happy ending of a Disney film, where heroes swoop in to save the day, the story for children like her is being rewritten in the worst way. With the recent policy decision to remove $1 billion in USDA funding that helps supply food banks and school meal programmes, the safety net that once protected children from hunger is unravelling. The boogeyman of food insecurity is creeping closer, not just in the shadows but in classrooms, cafeterias, and homes where empty stomachs are becoming more common.