Last week, Angel of EdgewoodA Hartford-based nonprofit working to combat poverty and hunger handed out over 6,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables during its yearly back-to-school gathering.
Founder and CEO Jendayi Scott-Miller stated that the number seems high but is truly “heartbreaking” — the organization has usually distributed thousands more pounds of food during its previous events. Community partner organizations that distribute school supplies also mention they need to greatly reduce their efforts.
Scott-Miller linked the decrease in food and supplies to increasing expenses, which have been partially driven by tariffs. Several of these items essential for the school year are brought into the U.S. and are now subject to higher tariffs implemented by the Trump administration.
Until now, our distributors were unable to meet our purchase request due to rapidly increasing costs and tariffs,” Scott-Miller stated on Monday. “When kids begin the school year with less food available, we aren’t just letting them down—we’re undermining our future.
Connecticut legislators and community organizations are opposing certain policies and laws from the Trump administration, claiming they could negatively impact families, students, and educators as they prepare to return to school.
Besides implementing new tariffs on U.S. imports from many nations, they also highlighted the effects of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” on public education and food support. Reductions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously called food stamps, also threaten access to free and discounted school meals.
“Millions of children throughout the country will have less food available when they wake up in the morning and when they return home at night, as the typical SNAP benefit will significantly decrease for families nationwide,” said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, on Monday at the state Capitol.
Murphy claimed there is “an upcoming food shortage affecting children.” Lawmakers and activists pointed out that children who experience hunger find it more challenging to focus on their schoolwork and assignments, whether due to not having enough food at home or at school.
“It’s impossible to create a robust education system or a powerful nation if our educational foundation is fragile. We understand that children who are hungry struggle to concentrate,” stated Miguel Cardona, the former U.S. Secretary of Education and previous head of the Connecticut State Department of Education.
SNAP enables students to automatically qualify for free school meals without having to complete an application. If a student loses access to SNAP, they will no longer be directly certified for the school meals program. They would then have to submit the necessary forms to determine their eligibility.
In regions with higher levels of poverty, school districts may be eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal initiative that enables schools to provide free meals to every student enrolled. Several school districts in Connecticut received approval in the previous academic year for a universal free meal program through CEP.
Due to modifications in SNAP under the new federal legislation, certain universal school meal initiatives might encounter increased expenses and lose eligibility for the Community Eligibility Program, potentially impacting around 18 million students, as stated in a May report by the Urban Institute think tank.
Even though individual students would still qualify for free school meals based on income, modifications to SNAP might result in fewer students being automatically eligible for these meals, particularly if students who are part of both SNAP and Medicaid were to lose both benefits.according to the report by the Urban InstituteAdditionally, lower participation rates in SNAP and Medicaid might lead to higher costs for school meals at the school, district, and state levels.
The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is set to bring significant changes to both SNAP beneficiaries and the state agencies responsible for managing the program in the years ahead. Although the state is still awaiting federal instructions onexpanded eligibility requirements to receive SNAP benefits, Connecticut might also cover a significantly larger share of the costs for those benefits in the coming years.
The state could face nearly $180 millionannual additional expenses for its food stamps program over the next five years, according to an initial review of federal budget reductions by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration.
Tariffs are also affecting certain imported food products and school materials.
For many years, educators have spent their personal funds to purchase extra materials and resources for their classrooms that their schools were unable to provide.
And currently, with the updated tariff policies, it is claimed that the increased expenses will affect teachers and families alike. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, from Connecticut, described it as a “back-to-school tax.”
“This merchandise is imported regardless of whether it’s clothing, crayons, calculators, strawberries, or grapes. Whether the tariff is 15% or 50%, the burden falls on students, their parents, teachers, and the American public,” Blumenthal stated on Monday.
In reaction to the “Big Beautiful Bill” and other initiatives, state lawmakers are considering how Connecticut will compensate for it.shortfalls to federal assistancefor initiatives such as SNAP and Medicaid.
However, legislators on Monday did not express their opinion on whether the General Assembly should address the matter of increased funding for school meals during a special session expected in the fall.
Cardona generally stated that there is a role for the state, but highlighted the “additional burdens” faced by states that may be required to provide specific services when the U.S. Department of Education is not involved.
The state’s U.S. senators stated they will concentrate on the discussion regarding financing the federal government when they return to Congress following Labor Day.
“That presents an opportunity for us to tell our Republican colleagues, ‘If you want our vote on that budget, you’ll need to reduce some of the healthcare cuts that will severely impact families across the nation,’” Murphy stated.
Blumenthal agreed that it shouldn’t be solely up to the states to fill the gaps. He noted that Connecticut is in a better situation than many due to its rainy day fund, but added, “It doesn’t have unlimited resources.”
It’s about parents needing to decide between having dinner and buying school supplies,” said Julieth Callejas, executive director of End Hunger CT! “In a state that has so much wealth and opportunity, our children shouldn’t be concerned about where their next meal will come from.
Reporter Andrew Brown from CT Mirror contributed to this story.
