1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Improving Access to Nutrition Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) 35,000,000 people, including over 10,000,000 children, suffered from hunger even before the COVID–19 pandemic began; (2) analyses show that 50,000,000 people, including 17,000,000 children, could go hungry due to the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic; (3) as of December 2020, food insecurity among White households with children was 24.2 percent, while 38.6 percent of Latinx households and 40.6 percent of African-American households with children suffered from food insecurity; (4) Black and Hispanic children were twice as likely as White children to live in households without enough to eat, entering the COVID–19 pandemic at a disproportionate risk of going hungry; (5) adults who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or multiracial were twice as likely as White adults to report that their household did not get enough to eat; (6) while official national data for Native American households is lacking, previous research in the State of Washington showed food insecurity among Native households was 2.5 times higher than in White households; (7) the COVID–19 pandemic has deepened longstanding racial disparities and food insecurity; (8) the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ) (referred to in this section as the supplemental nutrition assistance program ) is the first line of defense against hunger and especially vital for vulnerable populations; (9) more than 85 percent of all benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program go to households with children, seniors, and persons with disabilities; (10) the supplemental nutrition assistance program helps restore access to healthy food, improves overall health, and reduces poverty