Federal SNAP cuts and new work requirements are pushing more people toward food pantries, with North Carolina SNAP participant rolls shrinking by more than 110,000 since September 2025. For children, food insecurity is associated with developmental risk and other health issues. For example, food insecure children are 1.4 times more likely to have asthma than children who are food secure. In North Carolina, more than 1.2 million low-income North Carolinians depend on SNAP to help put food on their tables. In addition to the SNAP changes, Congress last year cut $1 billion in food aid that once flowed through food banks nationwide.