Summer is nearly here, and the Baltimore Farmers' Market is abuzz with activity on Sunday mornings. There, many local residents who are currently struggling to make ends meet are able to access fresh produce and healthy food for their children in what might otherwise be a food desert, all the while supporting local farmers and small businesses, thanks to Eat Fresh Maryland. The program, run through the Maryland Farmers Market Association, matches federal nutrition assistance funding.

Regrettably, for many residents, access to healthy farm-fresh food — or food at all — is in now in jeopardy as cuts threaten to curtail assistance programs. In order for Eat Fresh Maryland to match families' nutrition assistance funding, the federal government must first allot it.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of our nation's most powerful and effective anti-hunger programs and one of the primary federal nutrition programs that is matched by Eat Fresh Maryland. Currently, 45 million people — almost half of them children — receive SNAP benefits. SNAP lifted 4.7 million people out of poverty in 2014 and significantly reduced childhood hunger and health problems. SNAP is even associated with higher graduation rates and better adult health outcomes.

And yet, despite its effectiveness, SNAP is once again on the chopping block because of political grandstanding, and children are among the potential victims.

How did we get here? Earlier this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan created a Task Force on Poverty, Opportunity and Upward Mobility. This task force has repeatedly put forward proposals to turn SNAP into something called a block grant (disguised as a “merged funding stream”). That means SNAP would no longer be a federally administered program. Instead, the funds would be given directly to states at a fixed amount, removing many of the very features of SNAP that make it so beneficial: its ability to increase in emergencies and to adjust over time for inflation.

Why is this especially worrisome for Baltimore's children? While food insecurity affects an astounding one in seven Americans, it's worse in Baltimore, where close to one in every five children may not know where their next meal is coming from.

Not only is hunger a problem itself, it has numerous immediate and long-term consequences. Children who are severely hungry are more likely to have health problems like stomachaches, colds and even chronic illnesses. Further, hunger can affect children's psychological well-being, as it is associated with anxiety and depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Hunger is also associated with what psychologists call “externalizing disorders” or what we might recognize as acting out behaviors, such as fighting, arguing, not following rules or stealing. Hungry children are more likely to perform worse on tests and even learn less in school. A lack of healthy food can also lead to malnutrition, which can impair physical growth, including brain development. Malnutrition during early childhood impacts the size and functioning of brain structures, stunting intellectual capacity and cognitive functioning.

What should members of Congress do to make things right? Over 87 percent of Baltimore City's children have access to Free and Reduced Meals at school and will need to turn to alternative nutrition programs, including SNAP, as school lets out this summer. I call on Speaker Ryan and his task force to support our children. Instead of decimating a program that has been proven to work — and leaving millions of children without a reliable food source — Speaker Ryan's task force should be looking for ways to strengthen and expand SNAP. For example, monthly benefits should be increased so families can afford to put healthy food on the table throughout the month. SNAP benefits should also be extended over a longer period of time so people can more easily transition into the work force or a better paying job.

Our children deserve to eat fresh, healthy food regardless of their parents' income. Eat Fresh Maryland is doing its part; I call on Congress members to do theirs.

Sara Buckingham is a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; her email is sara.l.buckingham@umbc.edu.