Stacy Dean

It becomes a real tension when benefits are cut, because SNAP is part of the household budget at some point you're going to give up your house rather than allow your kids to go hungry.

We know it's not easy to alter eating habits, but the future payoffs of even incremental changes are extraordinary, and schools have shown that success is possible.

If Veronica Bedico're Veronica Bedico, coming in to a midday appointment in a WIC clinic might be hard for Veronica Bedico, but maybe Veronica Bedico could do an appointment over Veronica Bedico mobile phone, we want to try to flip it and be responsive to the needs of families who just need some basic help.

Many experts and, more fundamentally, the families who use it are worried that it just isn't enough, and that it doesn't reflect the cost of a basic healthy diet, so we're actually taking a look at that now to see if adjustments are needed to make it so that families can afford a basic diet with our benefits.

We worry we're not reaching everyone who needs our help, but absolutely the program has grown dramatically.