Issue: Budgets

250+ advocates urge Alabama lawmakers to expand no-cost school breakfast

By Chris Sanders
Dozens of people stand behind and to either side of a lectern in a committee room at the Alabama State House. Close-up shots of two videographers are in the foreground.
Dr. Shakita Brooks Jones, board president of Alabama Arise Action, speaks in support of no-cost school breakfast during Arise’s annual Legislative Day on Feb. 24, 2026, in Montgomery. (Photo by Julie Bennett)

Alabama should ensure access to no-cost breakfast for every child in the state’s public schools, Alabama Arise Action members told legislators Tuesday.

More than 210 Arise supporters gathered this week at the State House in Montgomery alongside dozens of members of the Alabama School Nutrition Association (ASNA) to show support for expanding no-cost school breakfast. The advocates urged legislators to provide $14 million next year to ensure no-cost breakfasts are available for every child in participating Alabama public schools.

The request would be less than 0.14% of Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed $10.5 billion Education Trust Fund budget for fiscal year 2027. And that funding would provide long-term benefits for the people of Alabama, speakers at Arise’s news conference said Tuesday.

“Healthy school meals at no cost for all students are not an expense,” ASNA president Cacyce Davis said. “They are an investment in families. They are an investment in communities. And they are an investment in the future workforce of our state.”

ASNA members and Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, joined Arise advocates at the news conference, which was part of Arise’s annual Legislative Day event.

Photos from the event are available here. Video from the news conference is available here.

Building on last year’s investment in child nutrition

Alabama lawmakers took an important step forward on child nutrition in 2025 by appropriating $7.3 million to expand access to no-cost school breakfasts for more public schools. More than 190,000 children have benefited from this investment in making school meals more readily available.

Arise advocates are asking lawmakers to provide $14 million in school breakfast funding next year so Alabama can maintain and build upon last year’s progress.

“That investment [in 2025] made a meaningful difference for districts across Alabama and for thousands of children who depend on school breakfast to start their day,” Davis said. “Because of that support, more students are walking in the classroom nourished and ready to learn.”

A woman speaks behind a lectern in a committee room at the Alabama State House. Dozens of people stand behind and beside her.
Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, speaks in support of no-cost school breakfast during Arise’s annual Legislative Day on Feb. 24, 2026, in Montgomery. (Photo by Julie Bennett)

Access to no-cost school meals in Alabama has nearly doubled since 2019, and English and math scores have improved significantly during that time. Drummond, a longtime supporter of increased investment in food access, said the growth of no-cost school breakfast in recent years has helped improve academic achievement for many Alabama students.

“A healthy breakfast is the first lesson of the day,” Drummond said. “It fuels young minds before the bell even rings. When children eat in the morning, they learn better all day.”

Davis said she has seen the power of no-cost school breakfast in her roles as ASNA president and child nutrition director for Elmore County schools.

“When breakfast is offered at no charge to students, participation increases. Attendance improves,” Davis said. “Nurses report fewer morning stomachaches and headaches. Teachers see better focus and behavior in classrooms. Families experience meaningful financial relief. And academic outcomes improve.”

‘It’s about our children’

Dr. Shakita Brooks Jones, board president of Alabama Arise Action, said ensuring that children have the nutrition they need to learn and thrive is a moral issue.

“We believe in breaking down policy barriers that limit opportunity,” Jones said. “We believe public policy should make it easier, not harder, for struggling families to make ends meet. And we believe no one in our state should be hungry, especially not schoolchildren.”

Drummond said she agreed on the need to invest more in child nutrition. She encouraged people across Alabama to ask their lawmakers to support a $14 million state allocation for no-cost school breakfast.“I am energized,” Drummond said. “From Mobile all the way to the Wiregrass to Huntsville, we can make this happen. Because it’s not about us. It’s about our children.”

2026 Legislative Day – No-cost breakfast supports a strong start, strong finish for Alabama students

By Alabama Arise

Every Alabama child deserves access to breakfast 

  • About 1 in 4 school-age children in Alabama struggle with food insecurity.
  • Access to no-cost school meals is not the standard for many children in working families and is often determined by where they live.
  • Many schools are struggling to break even with the current maximum federal reimbursement for school meals.

No-cost school breakfast helps families and communities thrive

  • Since 2019, access to no-cost meals has doubled in Alabama. In that time, reading and math scores across the state have improved for children across all household income levels.
  • No-cost school breakfast reduces the stigma associated with separating and sorting students by household income.
  • Greater access to school meals helps improve student behavior and learning and reduces absenteeism.
  • Streamlined funding for school breakfast reduces paperwork and administrative costs for local school districts.
  • Continuing and increasing state investment in access to no-cost school breakfast supports local farmers and helps schools serve more local produce.

Bottom line

Every student deserves the resources they need to thrive in the classroom. Breakfast is an essential school supply, and lawmakers should appropriate the total funding necessary to fund no-cost breakfast fully for all children in Alabama public schools. Let’s support a strong start and a strong finish with no-cost breakfast for Alabama schools!

Arise 2026: How we’re working to build a better Alabama

By Matt Okarmus

Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for all. We believe in an Alabama where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. And we believe better public policies are the key to building a brighter future for our state. 

Below, we’ll share some details of that vision as the Alabama Legislature’s regular session begins January 13. This blog focuses on the crucial legislative priorities on our 2026 roadmap to change.

If you’re not already a member of Alabama Arise, join us! Members will receive an exclusive version of our weekly Legislative Updates throughout the session. These emails include a weekly video update from Arise staff members on what’s happening at the State House, as well as details about upcoming legislation and links to additional resources.

Executive Director Robyn Hyden welcomes us to the 2026 session

Arise’s Robyn Hyden welcomes everyone to the Alabama Legislature’s 2026 regular session. Watch to see what to expect this year and to learn more about our advocacy on school breakfast, protecting funding for public schools and other member-selected legislative priorities. 

Strong investments in schools, housing and transit improve life for all Alabamians

Strong funding for public services like education and public health broadens opportunity for everyone, especially for Alabamians with low incomes. Arise members for decades have urged robust and secure state funding for these services. Our top adequate state budget priorities include protecting funding for public schools and securing state support for affordable housing and public transportation.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Closing the health coverage gap: Alabama must enact policies to save lives

As Alabama enters the 2026 legislative session, Medicaid expansion and maternal health will be central to the state’s health equity conversations. Recent federal policy changes have made these conversations more urgent and more complex. Our top health equity priorities are Medicaid expansion and investments in comprehensive maternal health care.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Federal SNAP cuts underscore Alabama’s need to protect and increase food access

Alabama’s food insecurity rates are among the worst in the country. More than 1 in 6 people in our state (17%) face food insecurity, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. And that share is even larger for children: Nearly 1 in 4 Alabama children (23%) live in households with food insecurity. Our top hunger relief priorities are increasing the availability of no-cost school meals, protecting SNAP food assistance and continuing the successful SUN Bucks summer nutrition program.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

An inclusive democracy is vital to building a better Alabama for all

Alabama was central to the struggle for democracy and voting rights in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. And the need for our state to do more to build a more inclusive democracy continues today. That is especially true after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting the rights of people nationwide to have their say in who represents them at the local, state and federal levels. Our top inclusive democracy priorities include no-excuse absentee voting, early voting and removal of barriers to voting rights restoration.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty

Alabama’s criminal justice system too often prioritizes punishment over evidence-based interventions. This cruel orientation has fueled heavy-handed sentencing policies and a broken parole system. And it has led to a death penalty system where state officials continue to kill prisoners against the recommendation of the juries that convicted them. Our justice reform priorities include reforms to Alabama’s sentencing and parole practices and legislation to make the state’s ban on judicial override in death penalty cases retroactive. 

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Alabama’s tax system is upside down and needs real reform

Alabama’s tax structure is among the nation’s most unfair and unjust. The state is heavily reliant on regressive sales taxes on consumer goods that account for a larger share of spending for households with low incomes. Our state continues to tax groceries, though at a lower rate than other goods after grocery tax reductions in 2023 and 2025. And Alabama does not tax numerous services that people with higher incomes more often purchase. Our tax reform priorities include untaxing groceries, reining in income tax breaks for wealthy households and opposing further diversion of public school funding to private schools and homeschooling.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Empower workers to build an economy that works for all Alabamians

Alabama has a history of anti-worker policies that prioritize the interests of wealthy corporations over those of working people. This top-down structure has led to our state falling behind in measurable standards of well-being. Our worker power priorities include increased accountability for child labor law violators, expansion of paid leave and stronger protections for temp workers.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Strong investments in schools, housing and transit improve life for all Alabamians

By Carol Gundlach

Strong funding for public services like education and public health broadens opportunity for everyone, especially for Alabamians with low incomes. Alabama Arise members for decades have urged robust and secure state funding for these services. Arise members’ top budget priorities for 2026 include:

Public school funding

Lawmakers made important improvements to Alabama’s K-12 funding formula last year by passing the RAISE Act. The law provides additional funding for public schools that serve larger shares of students who are experiencing poverty or who have special needs. But because local property tax collections vary greatly, large resource gaps still remain in many districts.

The CHOOSE Act poses a major and growing threat to adequate funding for public schools. This law allows parents to receive up to $7,000 per child for private school and up to $2,000 for homeschooling each year. The law diverts $100 million of state money from public schools each year. But legislators could face intense pressure to increase that amount once the income limits for eligibility disappear starting in 2027.

Another key step to invest more in education would be to end or limit the state deduction for federal income tax (FIT) payments. Alabama is the only state that still allows this deduction, which is a tax break skewed heavily in favor of wealthy households.

Affordable housing

Alabama lacks more than 73,000 homes for households below the federal poverty line, leaving many residents without a safe, affordable place to live. Lawmakers created the Alabama Housing Trust Fund in 2012, but they have failed thus far to fund it. Arise will continue working to secure state funding for affordable housing and identify policy changes to strengthen housing support statewide.

Public transportation

Inadequate public transportation prevents thousands of Alabamians from meeting basic needs. Unreliable public transit can cause workers to be late for work, putting their jobs at risk. It can also force patients to miss critical medical treatments, worsening their health and adding to the state’s rural health crisis.

The Legislature created the Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund in 2018 but has failed to fund it. A constitutional amendment also prevents gas tax money from being used for public transit. Arise will continue advocating for state funding for public transportation and will explore innovative solutions for both funding and service provision across Alabama.

Building on our momentum for the new year

By David Stout

As we close out 2025, Arise members and member organizations can reflect on a very successful year. Reducing the state sales tax on groceries from 3% to 2% and guaranteeing more students in public schools get a free breakfast with a $7.3 million budget appropriation were two of the biggest highlights worth celebrating. 

Improvements were also made in maternal health, including tax cuts passed for maternal and infant care products as well as those that fell under the “pink tax” such as diapers, baby formula and feminine hygiene products. Expecting mothers became eligible for Medicaid during the early days of their pregnancy, creating an increased opportunity for healthy pregnancies and babies. For the first time, a progressive model for parental leave for education employees and state workers became law. 

Arise aggressively fought to ensure SNAP benefits remained intact among federal changes. These successes come from the dedicated and engaged members who have remained steadfast in Arise’s mission to make Alabama more responsive to its citizens.

The 2026 legislative session, the last session of the quadrennium before lawmakers will face the public at the voting booth, is gearing up to be another busy time for Arise. Below is our roadmap for how we will prepare for the challenges ahead.

Health equity

Arise will continue our commitment to expand Medicaid and ensure health care for more Alabamians. With the growing lack of access to maternal health care, we will also continue the fight to protect and improve access for life-saving maternal care and contraception. In the realm of improving our current Medicaid coverage, Alabama is ranked 49th for dental care. We will work to expand access to adult dental benefits for Medicaid members.

Hunger relief

While 2025 saw a significant step forward in no-cost school meals, almost 30 percent of students still lack access to school breakfast or lunch. Arise will work to protect and expand funding for school meals as well as the Summer EBT program (now SUN Bucks) for low-income students. Arise will also be a voice of reason to block ill-intended limitations on the purchase of certain items under SNAP guidelines.

Adequate state budgets

With the constant waste of lucrative tax incentives going to big corporations, we must remain vigilant to protect our budgets from excessive giveaways, ill-conceived tax exemptions and tax credits. The biggest threat to the Education Trust Fund is the relatively new tax credit for private school students from the CHOOSE Act that allows up to $7,000 per student, a drain on public school resources. 

If income caps are removed, more than $500 million in school tax dollars could go to previously enrolled private school students. In 2026, Arise will continue to oppose any expansion of the CHOOSE Act.

Alabama does not currently provide any state funds for the Housing Trust Fund to support more affordable housing for low-income, elderly, and disabled citizens. Equally insufficient is the state’s failure  to fund the Public Transportation Trust Fund, which could secure up to an 80% percent match in federal funds. Arise will continue to fight to fund the Alabama Housing Trust Fund and the Public Transportation Trust Fund.

Inclusive democracy

The constant effort to suppress voting in Alabama demands we expand voting rights with comprehensive legislation, including allowing people to cast an absentee ballot without unnecessary, trivial restrictions. We will work to remove barriers for people who have been banned from voting because of a criminal conviction. We will also continue to oppose laws attacking the inclusion of immigrants, Black Alabamians and other racial and ethnic minorities in our society. 

Justice reform

In 2018, Arise worked to eliminate judicial override, a policy that allowed judges to impose a death sentence against the will of the jury. Unfortunately, the law was not retroactive. With nearly 30 people still on death row because of this outdated and now illegal policy, it’s time to make judicial override retroactive and seek justice for those condemned.

We must also work to reform Alabama’s three-strikes law, which disproportionately impacts low-income defendants. Under this law, a person could be serving a life sentence because of a series of minor infractions. Adding to the burden of prison overcrowding, Alabama’s parole system has been plagued by unworkable guidelines, driving our prison overcrowding crisis and making our system more punitive, not restorative. It’s time to make the parole system more fair, transparent and efficient.

Tax reform

Faced with tariffs and increasing food costs, there’s never been a better time to fully eliminate Alabama’s tax on groceries. A larger share of the burden falls on those with lower incomes, who spend more of their income on food than the wealthy. Arise supports a more progressive and fair income tax that recognizes the inequities in our tax rates.          

Worker power

The newest priority on our 2026 legislative agenda is supporting worker power legislation in partnership with organized labor. Our primary goal will be to remove tax incentives from companies that employ child labor and violate workers’ rights. We will also work to expand paid parental leave policies to cover more state employees, teachers and other workers. Often, the person most abused is the temporary worker, who has no rights. Arise will work to pass workplace protections in a Temp Workers’ Bill of Rights to improve on-the-job conditions, along with a pathway for full-time jobs.

Long federal road ahead for SNAP, health care

By Alabama Arise

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst, and Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director

Alabama Arise believes that society should care for the most vulnerable in our nation—children, the elderly, those who are disabled and those who have fallen on temporary hard times. Since the Great Depression, Americans have been assured that, no matter how hard times get, our basic nutritional needs would be met by our government.

But 2025 has been a head-spinning and traumatic year for the 750,000 Alabama recipients of SNAP food assistance (commonly called Food Stamps), a stable pillar in America’s response to poverty and hunger. For 60 years, through multiple federal shutdowns, budget crises and wars, SNAP assistance has reliably fed hungry Americans. 2025 was different. 

Bill doesn’t help those who need it

HR1, the budget reconciliation bill (or “One Big Beautiful Bill”) passed by Congress in July, made it harder for people to receive food assistance and reduced the amount of assistance available, even as grocery costs rose. Existing time limits and burdensome paperwork requirements for some SNAP recipients were expanded to include unhoused people, veterans, children aging out of foster care and elderly recipients. 

Non-citizens and refugees legally in the U.S. were denied food assistance. And states, for the first time, will have to pay for some SNAP benefit costs. By mid-2027, Alabama will have to come up with approximately $175M to pay for our existing SNAP program.

Shutdown deepened impact

The October federal government shutdown only made the food crisis worse. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) refused to use its emergency funds and instead cut off food assistance to 42 million Americans, including all SNAP recipients in Alabama. 

Food banks and pantries, bolstered by small state grants, tried to fill the gap but many of our neighbors faced hunger as the holidays approached. The ending of the shutdown allowed the Department of Human Resources to get SNAP benefits out in record time, but legal immigrants face immediate termination of SNAP benefits. And many more people face new, draconian time limits that began in December. 

And many of the same people face huge increases in the cost of their health care.

Health costs will soar

As of this writing, Congress has not extended enhanced premium tax credits (ePTCs), which lower monthly premiums for nearly 500,000 Alabamians who get their coverage through the ACA Marketplace. As a result, 130,000 Alabamians are expected to lose coverage. This decision threatens to roll back the significant progress Alabama has made in reducing its uninsured rate.

The enhanced tax credits have played a central role in that progress. Lowering premiums opened Healthcare.gov plans to workers who had long been locked out of affordable coverage. Nearly half of Alabama’s Healthcare.gov enrollees fall into income ranges that would qualify them for Medicaid expansion if they lived in the 40 states that have expanded. Without the credits, many will face premiums they simply cannot pay, increasing the number of uninsured at a time when families are already navigating high costs of living.

This shift will place additional pressure on Alabama’s health care system, especially rural hospitals and clinics that already struggle with staffing shortages, rising uncompensated care, and service reductions. 

HR 1 complicates health care access

Federal changes under HR 1 create additional challenges. The law eliminates financial incentives meant to help states like Alabama adopt Medicaid expansion, including extra federal funding that would have supported expansion startup costs for the first two years. It also places new restrictions on increasing provider taxes, which Alabama uses to help fund its share of Medicaid. These limits would become more restrictive if Alabama chose to expand Medicaid in the future, and even now, they place a long-term cap on our state’s flexibility to finance Medicaid as health care costs continue to rise.

HR 1 also shifts new SNAP funding responsibilities to states. This will strain the state budget at a time when food insecurity is rising and families are struggling to meet basic needs.

Taken together, these issues ensure that health care and food access will be unavoidable priorities in the 2025 legislative session. The coming year will bring real challenges, but it also offers Alabama lawmakers an opportunity and a responsibility to strengthen the state’s health and nutrition safety nets at a moment when Alabamians need them most.

Las prioridades legislativas de Alabama Arise para 2026

By Alabama Arise

Más de 150 grupos miembros de Alabama Arise y más de 1,500 miembros individuales eligen todos los años nuestras prioridades legislativas. Este proceso garantiza que los habitantes de Alabama más afectados por la pobreza participen de las decisiones. A continuación se enumeran las prioridades que nuestros miembros eligieron para 2025.

Para obtener una versión de este documento en PDF, haga clic aquí o en el botón de “Descargar” (Download) arriba.

Equidad en salud – Alabama debe salvar vidas, crear trabajo y proteger la salud rural cerrando la brecha de cobertura de Medicaid y mejorando el acceso a atención de maternidad de alta calidad.

Alivio del hambre – Alabama debe ayudar a las familias a prosperar al asegurar que todas las escuelas públicas puedan ofrecer comidas gratuitas para todos sus estudiantes y al proteger programas de nutrición vitales.

Presupuestos estatales adecuados – Los servicios públicos robustos amplían las oportunidades para todos. Alabama debe proteger la financiación para las escuelas públicas e invertir en vivienda asequible y transporte público.

Democracia inclusiva – Todos merecen tener su opinión en nuestra democracia. Alabama debe permitir el voto en ausencia sin excusas y eliminar barreras para la restauración de los derechos de voto para personas que no están involucradas.

Reforma de justicia – El sistema de justicia de Alabama debe enfocarse en rehabilitación, no en crueldad. Nuestro estado debe dejar de ejecutar a personas sentenciadas a muerte contra la recomendación de un jurado. Alabama también debe reformar la libertad condicional y las sentencias.

Reforma impositiva – Un sistema impositivo más equitativo puede ayudar a las personas en dificultades a llegar a fin de mes. Alabama debe quitar los impuestos a artículos básicos y asegurar financiamiento justo y sostenible para servicios vitales.

Poder trabajador – Alabama debe apoyar a la gente trabajadora quitando incentivos de impuestos a las empresas que violan las leyes de empleo de menores, extendiendo la licencia por paternidad/maternidad a más trabajadores y mejorando las salvaguardias para trabajadores temporarios.

Alabama Arise 2026 legislative priorities

By Alabama Arise

More than 150 Alabama Arise member groups and nearly 2,000 individual members choose our legislative priorities each year. This process ensures that Alabamians most impacted by poverty have a seat at the table. Below are the priorities that our members selected for 2026.

For a PDF version of this document, click here or click the “Download” button above.

Health equity –Alabama should save lives, create jobs and protect rural health care by closing the Medicaid coverage gap and improving access to high-quality maternity care.

Hunger relief – Alabama should help families thrive by ensuring all public schools can offer free school meals for all of their students and by protecting vital nutrition programs.

Adequate state budgets – Strong public services broaden opportunity for all. Alabama should protect funding for public schools and invest in affordable housing and public transportation.

Inclusive democracy – Everyone deserves a say in our democracy. Alabama should allow no-excuse absentee voting and lift barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised people.

Justice reform – Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty. Our state should stop executing people sentenced to death against a jury’s recommendation. Alabama also needs to reform parole and sentencing.

Tax reform – A more equitable tax system can help struggling people make ends meet. Alabama should untax groceries and ensure fair, sustainable funding for vital services.

Worker power – Alabama should support working people by removing tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws, extending paid parental leave to more workers and improving safeguards for temp workers.

What Alabamians need to know about SNAP during the federal shutdown

By Carol Gundlach

People should not have to choose between food, health care and other basic needs. But the White House’s decision to delay issuing food assistance benefits means millions of struggling families are about to be forced to make exactly that choice as the holidays approach.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week officially notified Alabama and other states that it would not issue food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the beginning of November. These benefits, which for now are 100% federally funded, are sometimes referred to as food stamps. The Department of Human Resources (DHR) confirmed Monday that SNAP participants in Alabama will see their benefits delayed.

More than 750,000 Alabamians – 1 in 7 people in our state – participate in SNAP. Nearly 40% of SNAP participants are children, according to the Food Research and Action Center. Alabama provided an average of $194 each in SNAP assistance to each participant in July. That means an average Alabama family of three participating in SNAP will lose nearly $600 next month.

Withholding these benefits will increase hunger and hardship across our state. It also could be financially devastating for grocery stores and other retailers, especially those serving large numbers of SNAP participants.

What SNAP participants should know

SNAP benefits still could be released later in November, either because the USDA changes its policy or because the budget standoff is resolved. If that happens, DHR will try to get November food assistance out as quickly as possible. But delays may occur, especially for people who get money added to their SNAP EBT cards early in the month.

If you are a SNAP participant, you still should be able to spend any money you already have on your EBT card after Nov. 1. But you will not see any additional money added to the card in November (or until this situation is resolved).

If you are scheduled to recertify your eligibility in November or to submit any paperwork to DHR, you should do that to avoid any further delays. And if you believe you are eligible for SNAP, you should go ahead and apply now. DHR is still processing applications, and eligible applicants will receive SNAP benefits retroactively to the date they applied once this situation is resolved.

To find emergency food from a food bank or food pantry, call 2-1-1 or visit Feeding Alabama’s food finder.

USDA can and should fund SNAP benefits for November

The USDA is using SNAP as a bargaining chip in the debate over the federal budget. The agency blames its decision to delay November SNAP benefits on the federal government shutdown. But the truth is that the USDA maintains a SNAP contingency fund with enough money in it to cover most of the November benefits for the entire country.

USDA officials already have spent some reserve money from that fund to help states cover their SNAP administrative costs. But the USDA now claims it cannot legally use this money to help struggling families. This claim is contrary to both the plain language of federal law and the White House’s own prior practice.

The USDA already has dipped into some of its reserve funds to help farmers during the shutdown. While we support our farmers, we also support helping hungry families, especially with Thanksgiving approaching. Some states are scrambling to find enough state money to cover SNAP benefits through November. But the USDA has announced that, unlike in previous shutdowns and unlike for other federal programs, it will not reimburse states for any money spent for food assistance.

How you can fight hunger and speak out for change

Donate to a food bank or food pantry. Hunger is about to soar due to the SNAP benefit delay. Please consider generously donating to your local food bank or food pantry. Unlike most shoppers, food banks buy food in bulk and at a discount, so financial gifts can feed far more people than direct gifts of food. But food banks and food pantries appreciate every donation and will use them to help our neighbors and communities.

Demand action from your federal officials. Food banks play an essential role in relieving hunger, but they cannot replace SNAP. The USDA’s decision to delay November SNAP benefits will increase hardship for families across our country. This policy also is a part of an effort to pressure Congress to discontinue enhanced premium tax credits that make Marketplace health coverage more affordable for millions of Americans, including nearly 500,000 Alabamians.

You can speak out now to help protect food assistance and health care access for people across Alabama:

People and families need both food and health care. No one should have to make a choice between seeing a doctor and keeping food on the table, and Congress should support both food assistance and affordable health insurance.

Alabama Arise unveils 2026 roadmap for change in Alabama

By Chris Sanders

Expanding health care access and improving maternal and infant health will remain top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2026 legislative agenda. The organization also will continue advocating for state funds to help public schools provide free school meals to every student.

Nearly 600 members voted in the last week to affirm Arise’s legislative priorities. The seven priorities chosen were:

  • Health equity, including policies to close Alabama’s health coverage gap for adults with low incomes and to protect access to maternity care.
  • Hunger relief, including legislation to allow more public schools to provide no-cost breakfast and lunch for all of their students.
  • Adequate state budgets, including equitable public education funding for every student and state funding for affordable housing and public transportation.
  • Inclusive democracy, including no-excuse early voting and removal of barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised Alabamians.
  • Justice reform, including legislation to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial override of jury sentencing decisions in death penalty cases retroactively, as well as improvements to the state’s sentencing and parole systems.
  • Tax reform to build a more just and sustainable revenue system, including eliminating the rest of Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries and replacing the revenue equitably.
  • Worker power to advance the health and safety of Alabama families, including legislation to remove tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws, as well as efforts to extend paid parental leave protections to more workers.

“Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “Our legislative priorities seek to empower Alabamians of every race, income and background to reach their full potential. And they reflect our members’ commitment to building a healthier, more just and more inclusive Alabama for all.”

Alabama Arise graphic text reads "2026 legislative priorities: Arise's roadmap to a better Alabama." Issues named are health equity, hunger relief, adequate state budgets, inclusive democracy, justice reform, tax reform and worker power.

The urgent need to close Alabama’s coverage gap and protect affordable Marketplace plans

Arise members believe Medicaid expansion is a path toward a healthier future where all Alabamians can afford the health care they need. Expanding Medicaid would reduce racial health disparities and remove financial barriers to health care for adults with low incomes. Expansion also would support thousands of new jobs across the state. And most importantly, it would save hundreds of lives every year.

Alabama is one of only 10 states yet to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would ensure health coverage for nearly 200,000 Alabamians caught in a coverage gap. Most of these residents earn too much to qualify for the state’s bare-bones Medicaid program but too little to afford private plans.

The number of Alabamians in the coverage gap could soar in 2026 if Congress fails to renew enhanced Premium Tax Credits for Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. If lawmakers allow the credits to expire, about 130,000 Alabamians would lose their health coverage, and premiums for many others would nearly double.

Those setbacks would add further strain to the health care infrastructure that serves all Alabamians. About two dozen rural hospitals in Alabama are at immediate risk of closure, and four labor and delivery units have shut down since 2023. These closures have reduced care options in a state that already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates.

“Everyone should be able to get the health care they need when they need it,” Hyden said. “Congress must act quickly to protect affordable Marketplace coverage for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians. And our state policymakers need to step up to close Alabama’s health coverage gap once and for all. This investment would pay off in the form of healthier families and stronger economic growth in communities across our state.”

No-cost school meals help Alabama children learn and thrive

Another key step toward a healthier Alabama is to ensure every public school can offer no-cost meals to every student. Hundreds of Alabama schools provide no-cost meals through the Community Eligibility Provision, but some schools cannot participate in the program.

Arise will advocate for additional state funding that local districts can use to match federal funds to offer no-cost meals. Legislators this year approved $17.3 million to expand school breakfast and continue Alabama’s participation in SUN Bucks, which provides $40 in food benefits per summer month for hundreds of thousands of Alabama children.

Stronger investment in school meals is more urgent amid threats to federal funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Alabama and other states could run out of money for WIC in a few weeks if Congress does not renew its funding. And the federal budget law enacted in July will make fewer people eligible for SNAP while shifting more costs to states.

Children and communities across Alabama would enjoy immediate and long-term benefits from no-cost meals in public schools. No-cost meals would reduce child hunger in a state where nearly 1 in 4 children face food insecurity. Extending the reach of school meal programs would help reduce behavioral problems and improve attendance and test scores. Reducing food insecurity for children also can help improve their mental health and overall health as teenagers and adults.

“It’s hard for children to focus in school when they’re hungry,” Hyden said. “Lawmakers should ensure that WIC and SNAP continue to provide food assistance for families across our state. And our legislators should invest in no-cost school meals to reduce hunger and help every Alabama child succeed both in the classroom and throughout their lives.”