1:55
- living
- October 27, 2025
Experts suggest Halloween help as SNAP cuts loom
Nonprofits and content creators are sharing the idea ahead of Halloween.
\"Families are already struggling and they're set to struggle a whole lot more,\" she says in the video.
In an interview with ABC News, Weeks touched on the importance of SNAP benefits to combat food insecurity.
\"SNAP is one of the most successful governmental food assistance programs in all of American history, and it allows families growing children to essentially meet nutritional adequacy,\" Weeks said.
The dietitian also noted the importance of offering nonperishable goods alongside regular Halloween candy to \"level the playing field\" for kids looking for food.
\"I think the minds of children -- when they see their colleagues, their classmates, you know, knowing that ... there's this, perhaps, element of potential feelings of inadequacy or, heaven forbid, embarrassment -- offering the nonperishable foods alongside the candy and making it kind of a sense of novelty and fun will sort of desensitize that and take away that potential sense of embarrassment,\" she said.
Other content creators have shared similar ideas on social media.
Kelcie Martin, a content creator, advocate, mother and author, who posts under the username @insidemyspectrum, said her plan this year, with SNAP cuts on the horizon, was to buy ramen, macaroni and cheese, and other shelf-stable items for the holiday in order to give kids a guilt-free way to access goods that may now be more difficult to obtain.
\"This is a great way for kids to get food without feeling embarrassed too, cause we're giving it away for Halloween, and if they wanna stock up, I'm not gonna say anything,\" she added.
Nottingham encouraged community members across the country to be grateful and thoughtful of their neighbors through Halloween and the oncoming holiday season.
\"I just encourage everyone to really think about what they have this holiday season,\" she said. \"There are so many different ways to help your community, and I hope that people don't forget that.\"
ABC News' Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report
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