Opinion | They Told Families to 'Eat Real Food.' Now They May Cut the Produce Benefit.

— To make America healthy, produce in a poor child's diet should be the last thing to cut

by Robert B. Shpiner, MD

June 11, 2026

• 4 min read

Last week, the House passed its agriculture spending bill by three votes, 213 to 210, with four Democrats crossing over. The legislation contains a $141 million cut to the part of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) that lets low-income families buy fruits and vegetables, a benefit that reaches about 5.4 million young children and pregnant or postpartum women.