A new federal law, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” makes the largest-ever cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also called food stamps) since the program began during the Great Depression—leaving millions with reduced benefits or none at all. On July 21, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. Hilary Seligman, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
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ANCHOR
THE “BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” SIGNED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON JULY FOURTH BRINGS NEW CHANGES TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM … OR SNAP.
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DOCTOR HILARY SELIGMAN (HILL-uh-ree SELL-ig-muhn) IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO.
SHE SAYS ABOUT 42-MILLION-AMERICANS RELY ON SNAP TO BUY GROCERIES… MOST ARE OLDER ADULTS… PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES… OR CHILDREN.
THE BILL INCLUDES STRICTER WORK REQUIREMENTS AND MAKES STATES COVER PART OF THE PROGRAM’S COST.
DOCTOR SELIGMAN EXPECTS THE CHANGES WILL LIMIT WHO CAN APPLY FOR SNAP… AND SAYS FEWER ENROLLMENTS MEAN FEWER PEOPLE LIVING HEALTHY LIVES.
SOT Duration: 0:39 Super: Dr. Hilary Seligman – Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco
“Households are gonna have to make really difficult choices. There are only two ways to substantially decrease your household food budget. You can change the quantity of food you eat and that often means going hungry, or you can change quality of the food you need. Shifting your food purchases towards foods that are higher in fat and higher in sugar. And we know foods that are higher in fat and higher in sugar, they cost less and they tend to create risk for obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, and other chronic diseases that have big, big challenges for the health of the U.S.”
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DOCTOR SELIGMAN ALSO SAYS SNAP HELPS KIDS IN SCHOOL EAT HEALTHY … WHICH DIRECTLY AFFECTS THEIR OVERALL SUCCESS.
Raw, full-length interview covers:
SNAP basics, including eligibility information, how many Americans receive benefits, and demographics of recipients;
The big-picture view of how the new law will affect the SNAP program;
Overlapping effects of the new law’s cuts to both Medicaid and SNAP;
How SNAP affects the diets and overall health of beneficiaries;
Research on how families and individuals are affected when they lose access to SNAP benefits; and
Economic ripple effects of the SNAP program on businesses like grocery stores, food producers, and farms.
