cut by 1%, or $8.6 billion, creating limitations in the program. In 2017, the House of Representatives proposed to cut $150 billion from SNAP's funding through 2026. However, the cuts were not enacted, and the original budget amount remained. These past threats to the funding of SNAP imply an uncertain future for its ongoing benefits. WIC Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, offers referrals to health care, nutrition information, and nutritious foods to low-income women, infants, and children who are at risk of health issues. Unlike SNAP, WIC is a federal grant program that runs under a specific amount of funds by the government, meaning not everyone who is qualified will receive benefits. WIC was first introduced in 1972 and became permanent in 1974. This program helps approximately 7.3 million participants each month and is reported to support 53% of infants born in the United States. In 2017, annual costs were $5.6 billion. Like SNAP, WIC is researched to also be highly effective for its participants. Benefits of WIC is associated with less premature and infant deaths and fewer occasions of low birthrates. Economically, $1.77 to $3.13 is saved in health care costs for each dollar invested in WIC. HFFI The Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) addresses place-based theories of poverty, aiming to develop grocery store chains in low-income communities and improve access to nutritious food. In the early 2000s, the metaphor of food deserts- low income communities that do not have access to grocery stores and nutritious foods- have been connected to health disparities. More than 29 million of US residents are reported to live in neighborhoods that resemble a food desert. The concept of the food desert has been increasingly linked to spatial reasons of poverty. It was understood that the food desert was the main reason why there were nutritional concerns in these neighborhoods. In 2010, President Obama introduced HFFI, which was passed by Congress in 2014 through the Farm Bill. Criticisms of government programs Criticism of SNAP In the Oxford Academic journal, Social Work, Adriana Flores- a socialist advocate- brings attention to the limitations of government programs such as SNAP. Flores states that while the government assists people with food insecurity through SNAP, important basic needs like hygiene products are excluded, ultimately forcing low-income people to decide between hygiene items and other living payments. Flores considers SNAP as one of the