Ms. Rachel, a popular children’s educator, criticized politicians supporting a “more Christian nation” despite cuts to food aid, detentions of immigrants, and health care refusal. In her latest interview on the It’s Open podcast with Ilana Glazer, she said depriving children of food assistance “just breaks me.”
Rachel Accurso, also known as Ms. Rachel, is an American educator, singer, songwriter, activist, and YouTube celebrity who has over 20.2 million subscribers on her channel. During the podcast, she also justified families using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for treats, such as Cool Ranch Doritos or birthday cake.
“The rights of children here, SNAP benefits being taken away, that was so psychotic,” Accurso said. “And Rachel, it’s like, is it in the name of Christianity to let’s be a Christian nation and take away SNAP benefits? Let’s be a more Christian nation and put our neighbors and the stranger, which is in the Bible. I was like, right, well, I’m the stranger, but the strangers in detention centers, right?”
“And like, it’s just, it’s so psychotic,” she continued. “And let’s make more and more money and not help others, and let’s deny people’s health care. It’s like, but the SNAP thing, I mean, that just breaks me. You’re gonna complain about a child having enough food?”
She was excited about the news about free school meals from a politician, whom she named only Troy.
“I’m so excited that I heard from Troy, who’s running for, yeah, and mean, yeah, that they have free lunch at the schools,” she said. “I’m like, yeah, because it was always like if you had free or reduced lunch, people are like… And we have that in New York, right? Oh, I don’t know, I think we do. Yeah, free breakfast and lunch. I just love that. Like, let’s just give kids free food.”
“And you know what, if somebody wants to get Cool Ranch Doritos with their SNAP, get a birthday cake and Cool Ranch Doritos, they’re allowed to use,” she added. “I had ice cream and cookies for dinner last night.”
It happens against the backdrop of significant decreases in SNAP enrollment. According to the federal data, the number decreased from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026. This is a decline of more than 13% in one year. Overall, more than 5 million people lost access to the program nationwide.
Children suffered especially. Analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that more than 1.2 million children lost access to the SNAP program from July 2025 to 2026, and the organization considers this figure undercounted – probably more than 1.5 million children lost access to the benefits.
It happened following the Republican tax and spending law that President Donald Trump signed on July 4, 2025. The law requires many SNAP recipients over 50 to work, volunteer, or participate in job training, or complete 80 hours of such activities per month, to receive SNAP benefits for three months. Earlier, people aged 55 to 64 and people with children ages 14 to 17 were exempt from the obligation; now, they must also work or volunteer to keep their eligibility.
States will have to pay the cost of benefits if the error rate in the state exceeds 6% starting in October 2027. However, Congress has considered delaying the date. Advocates warn that states may deny benefits entirely to reduce errors.
In Arizona, enrollment fell by 55% from April 2025 to April 2026, the biggest drop in the nation, resulting in more than 400,000 people losing benefits.
Supporters of the changes explain these figures in different ways. They claim that a reduction in rolls might be positive if people left the program because of rising incomes. The Heritage Foundation said people leaving welfare to work would indicate progress.
This is not the first time Accurso has connected the situation to her faith. In October 2025, she posted on Instagram: “People who say they’re Christian and want to cut SNAP, Jesus said to feed the hungry.” She says her work as an educator and activist is driven by her love for Jesus and the Gospel call to serve others.
It caused mixed reactions online. Her supporters praised her for addressing child hunger; others argued that charities should be the work of individuals, not the government.
Here is social media’s reaction to her statements.
