The next is the transcript of the interview with Feeding The us CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot that aired on “Face the Country with Margaret Brennan” on Nov. 30, 2025.
NANCY CORDES: We flip now to the combat towards starvation in the US. In keeping with govt knowledge, 47.4 million other people lived in what the Division of Agriculture calls a meals insecure family in 2023. That is when a family can not essentially download sufficient meals to feed all of its individuals. Some of the biggest teams operating to struggle meals lack of confidence is Feeding The us, and we are joined now through CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, who’s in Charleston, South Carolina this morning. Claire, thank you such a lot for being with us, and glad Thanksgiving.
CLAIRE BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Thank you for having me again.
NANCY CORDES: Completely. So all the way through the shutdown, we noticed those extremely lengthy traces at meals banks. The shutdown has now been over for a few weeks. SNAP advantages are going out once more, however even sooner than the shutdown, meals lack of confidence used to be at its easiest price in just about a decade. So, what’s the state of affairs now that you are seeing at meals banks across the nation as we head into the vacations?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yeah. So I am so happy that you- you made that time. I- I feel your audience is also stunned to be informed that meals lack of confidence charges sooner than the shutdown had been upper than at any level all the way through the pandemic, for instance. We are proceeding to look very top call for. I feel a part of the reason being for the reason that quickest rising crew of other people turning to the charitable meals machine, they are individuals who do not even qualify for any federal vitamin techniques so that is a space that we have to stick fascinated about. We all know the types of issues that paintings. We want to do the ones issues in order that we will be able to truly cope with what is going down with starvation and poverty within the nation,
NANCY CORDES: What do you assume is contributing to the upward push in starvation and this crew of people that, as you assert, do not qualify for advantages, however are appearing an greater want for meals?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yeah, I feel it is that the machine is damaged. At the moment, there is such a lot of other people, if you’ll be able to consider, on this nation who can not have the funds for to get a elevate at paintings, as a result of we’ve a machine that doesn’t incentivize other people to proceed to transport up the ladder. We have were given ladders with giant lacking rungs, if you’ll, so we will be able to do something positive about that. We may have a sliding scale, for example, that permits other people to transport out of poverty. By means of doing that, as a result of meals lack of confidence is in truth a symptom of poverty, they are going to transfer out of that as smartly. We as a country must all need other people so that you could supply for themselves. We must all need them so that you could get paintings that they are able to really feel pleased with and reinforce their households with. We’ve got the ability to do all of the ones issues, it’ll require that we paintings in combination, that we be truthful about what is damaged, and that we truly get dedicated about solving the ones issues.
NANCY CORDES: What are the principle demanding situations that the organizations to your community are dealing with this vacation season as they are trying to feed people who find themselves hungry? Is the meals there for the individuals who want it?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yeah, sadly, the traces are longer than- than the meals this is to be had, and one of the crucial toughest issues to witness will likely be seeing those individuals who have the similar desires, aspirations for his or her children and themselves, as I’ve for mine and your whole audience have for theirs, feeling the want to flip to the charitable meals machine. It takes numerous braveness and resiliency and dedication to circle of relatives ofttimes so that you could do this, after which for them to show up despite all of the ones limitations, and not- us now not be capable of supply them with what they truly want so I’ve a deep admire for other people experiencing starvation on this nation. I have been an individual who is skilled starvation sooner than. I do know many of us who’ve, many of us who nonetheless do, such a lot of of them are my heroes. After which every other set of heroes that I’ve are other people operating on this combat within the Feeding The us community, who display up shoulder to shoulder with other people experiencing starvation, who’re so deeply dedicated to their smartly being. So we want to place other people experiencing starvation so that you could fend for themselves, and we want to place meals banks so that you could supply them with the reinforce that they want on this second, till they get there.
NANCY CORDES: As , there are about two million American citizens who’re going to be suffering from adjustments to the SNAP program that had been made previous this yr in a vote through Congress. They’re going to now not be receiving SNAP advantages any further. What are the industrial implications of that? And in about 30 seconds, what can your organizations do about it?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: In keeping with the Congressional Funds Place of work, we are most probably taking a look at a couple of six billion meal in step with yr hole that is going to be created. So the types of issues that we should do: we ought to handle fraud the place it exists. We should incentivize other people so that you could get the hand up that they want and to transport out of poverty. We ought to handle error charges, however we should do all of these items strategically, and we should do them in a bipartisan method. This should be the type of factor that this nation can come in combination round, that we will be able to hang arms shoulder to shoulder, as a result of when other people experiencing starvation win, all of us do.
NANCY CORDES: Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, we need to depart it there. We have were given a troublesome out. However thanks such a lot, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot from Feeding The us. Thanks such a lot.
