Each week, Food Tank is rounding up a few news stories that inspire excitement, infuriation, or curiosity.
Federal Shutdown Jeopardizes SNAP Benefits for 42 Million
As the U.S. government shutdown continues, concerns are growing that nutrition assistance benefits currently provided to around 42 million people under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may soon disappear.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced that if the shutdown continues, SNAP benefits will not be issued for November. “We’re going to run out of money in two weeks,” she said during a press briefing. Many states already warned that benefits may be delayed or suspended if the shutdown is not resolved.
Crystal FitzSimons, President of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), describes SNAP as a lifeline supporting health and food dignity. According to Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, if SNAP shuts down, the U.S. will face the most mass hunger suffering since the Great Depression.
The USDA has a contingency fund that allows the agency to use emergency reserves to maintain operations. While the contingency reserves would not cover the full amount needed, the agency could legally transfer additional funds, as they’ve done for the WIC nutrition program according to Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
FRAC argues the shortfall is a policy choice. “Allowing hunger to deepen during a shutdown is not an inevitability,” says Gina Plata-Nino, FRAC’s Interim SNAP Director. She notes that previous administrations maintained SNAP during past shutdowns in 2013, 2018–19, and 2023 using carryover funds and short-term budget measures.
Obesity Rate Declines in U.S. States for First Time in a Decade
For the first time in more than a decade, the number of U.S. states with adult obesity rates of 35 percent or higher has declined. According to the State of Obesity 2025 report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), 19 states reached that threshold in 2024—down from 23 the year before.
“It’s too soon to call it a trend,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of TFAH. While the drop is encouraging, she warned the progress is fragile and under threat due to recent federal funding cuts, layoffs of chronic disease prevention staff, and limited access to nutrition support.
Obesity continues to affect Black and Latino adults, rural communities, and low-income groups at higher rates—populations with limited access to affordable healthy food and safe spaces for physical activity. Childhood obesity is also rising, with 21 percent of U.S. children and adolescents affected.
TFAH warns that the president’s FY2026 budget proposal would eliminate the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which funds many local obesity prevention programs. The report urges lawmakers to restore funding and expand support for proven public health interventions.
“It is vital that government and other sectors invest in — not cut — proven programs that support good nutrition and physical activity,” Gracia says.
Scientists Warn of Irreversible Climate Tipping Points
Rising greenhouse gas emissions have pushed the planet past a critical threshold, according to a new Global Tipping Points report authored by 160 researchers from 23 countries.
The report finds that warm-water coral reefs are headed toward irreversible decline. In the past two years alone, marine heatwaves have stressed 84 percent of coral reefs to the point of bleaching or death, according to the International Coral Reef Initiative. Coral reefs are home to roughly 25 percent of all marine species, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making them as biodiverse as tropical rainforests.
The report also warns that Earth is nearing several other major tipping points, including the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, disruption of major ocean currents, and the loss of polar ice sheets.
While the findings are stark, the authors note that the same science identifying ecological tipping points also points to “extraordinary potential” for positive change. Triggering so-called “positive tipping points” in food and fiber supply chains, for example, could halt deforestation and ecosystem conversion.
The researchers say such shifts are possible at a global scale—with strong policy signals, enforcement, coordination across supply chains and markets, and investment to help farmers transition to more sustainable practices. “The race is on to bring forward these positive tipping points to avoid what we are now sure will be the unmanageable consequences of further tipping points in the Earth system,” says lead author Tim Lenton.
U.N. Climate Chief Urges Urgent Adaptation Finance
At the recent launch of the National Adaptation Plans Progress Report, U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called for immediate financing to support global climate adaptation. Speaking from Brasília, he emphasized: “Finance must flow right now.”
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) outline countries’ medium- and long-term responses to climate risks. Stiell reports that nearly all developing countries are working on their plans, with 67—including 23 Least Developed Countries and 14 Small Island Developing States—already submitted to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The report highlights growing integration of adaptation into national development strategies and increased engagement across sectors, including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector.
But Stiell warns that progress is too slow, primarily due to funding shortfalls. He cited burdensome approval processes, fragmented support, and overreliance on external expertise. “Investors and financial institutions can no longer say they don’t know where or how to invest in adaptation,” he said. “These plans make it clear.”
Looking ahead to COP30 in November, Stiell said adaptation will be central—particularly efforts to close the finance gap and mobilize a US$1.3 trillion roadmap. He stressed that climate finance is not charity, but vital to global economic stability, food systems, and supply chains. “Before this report, we faced two adaptation challenges: direction and speed,” Stiell said. “Now there’s just one. We know where to go—now we need to get there faster.”
Nestlé to Cut 16,000 Jobs in Global Restructuring Effort
Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, recently announced plans to eliminate 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years as part of a cost-cutting strategy. The cuts represent about 6 percent of the company’s workforce.
Roughly 12,000 white-collar positions will be eliminated, with an additional 4,000 jobs impacted in manufacturing and supply chain operations. The company says the changes aim to increase operational efficiency and leverage automation.
“The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster,” says newly appointed CEO Philipp Navratil in a statement.
Investors responded positively. The Wall Street Journal reports the company’s share value surged following the announcement, marking one of Nestlé’s largest single-day stock gains since 2008.
However, the decision has drawn criticism. In the U.K., Unite, the country’s largest private-sector union, condemned the move. “Nestlé is a profitable company, selling billions of produce every month. Job losses are simply unacceptable,” says Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.
In the U.S., Nestlé operates 112 plants. It remains unclear how individual facilities will be affected, but facilities in Iowa, Washington, and South Carolina are bracing for possible impact.
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Photo courtesy of Elisabeth Bertrand, Unsplash
