'Kids shouldn’t be struggling this way': Jeff Bridges urges bipartisan push to end child hunger

Actor Jeff Bridges warned that American children are facing hunger this summer as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is beset by severe cuts. "It's really not about what political party you belong to. I think we can all agree that our kids in one of the most wealthy countries in the world shouldn't be struggling with hunger this way, that parents shouldn't have to choose between paying rent and putting groceries in the refrigerator or on the table. It doesn't make any sense," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

The 76-year-old, who is also the spokesperson for Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign, argued that the situation did not have to remain this way. "Fortunately, Congress is negotiating the Farm Bill right now, and it's an opportunity to reverse some of these cuts or delay them anyway. I'm hoping that everybody that's listening can urge their senators to restore the SNAP benefits for our kids and for our families and for our communities across the country," he averred.

SNAP is a critical pillar of the nation's social safety net that helps roughly 39 million Americans buy groceries. It faced deep cuts amounting to $186 billion over a decade following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with the number of children receiving assistance dropping by nearly 776,000, according to a ProPublica analysis. In fact, the overall participation in the programme fell by more than 4 million people between the law's July 2025 enactment and March 2026, according to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report.

The Farm Bill, which Congress is currently negotiating, reauthorizes several domestic food assistance programs and would, in part, delay the more sweeping SNAP cuts introduced under the Act, making it the legislative vehicle Bridges and other advocates are now pinning their hopes on. The Senate Agriculture Committee released its draft farm bill on June 23 without addressing Democrats' demands to delay the SNAP cuts, leaving the path to passage deeply uncertain.

But this is not the first time that 'The Big Lebowski' star has spoken out against SNAP cuts, accusing lawmakers of turning the act of feeding hungry kids into a partisan issue in October last year. "We have enough food, we have enough money, we have enough programs to end childhood hunger. To use feeding kids as a weapon, going back and forth doesn't make any sense," Bridges, the founder of the End Hunger Network, said.