Scarlett Johansson Signs Letter to Congress About Saving SNAP After Sharing Personal Story

Scarlett Johansson is joining a group of Hollywood stars urging Congress to avoid cutting vital programs for underprivileged Americans.

This week, the Jurassic World Rebirth star signed her name to an open letter alongside more than 20 other actors, musicians and celebs, in partnership with Feeding America. The letter asks the country’s 535 members of Congress to consider the needs of millions of Americans and avoid making cuts to SNAP and Medicaid programs as they finalize President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” budget plan.

“Dear Members of Congress,” the letter reads. “We all have powerful memories of sharing meals with friends, with family and even with strangers in moments of celebration, grief or everything in between. Food is a beautiful way humans show care, compassion and love to those around us. It’s a fundamental part of the human experience and a basic right we all deserve.”

Citing that about 15.5 million children and 7.2 million seniors rely on SNAP and Medicaid, the letter explains, “These programs make it possible for them to live more healthily and with dignity, in turn helping communities across America to thrive.”

The letter claims that Congress’ spending bill would make “some of the largest cuts to SNAP and Medicaid in U.S. history,” and that it could strip food security from hundreds of thousands of Americans, adding, “This is unacceptable and wrong. It is not how people in this country treat each other when facing hard times.”

While Johansson, 40, is now one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, she grew up under different circumstances. In 2023, she penned an open letter to show her support for Feeding America, writing how she and her twin brother, Hunter, grew up as “normal kids” who ate hot meals for school lunch alongside the rest of their classmates.

“Now, as an adult, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for those meals,” she wrote, in part. “My family relied on public assistance, and the meals I ate at school were part of the free school lunch program — which provides free breakfast and lunch to students from low-income families.”

“With those meals, my brother and I had the nourishment and energy to get through our day of learning and playing, and do all the things healthy kids get to do,” she continued. “And that food supported my growth outside school, too. Being fed and healthy helped fuel my involvement in theater and the arts as a kid, which fostered my love for acting.”

Now a mother of two herself, Johansson wrote that she understands more than ever how important food security is to a child’s wellbeing.

“I can only imagine the relief my parents felt, knowing my siblings and I had access to meals at school,” she said. “Every day, parents are there for their children — to celebrate their successes and support them on their journeys — and no parent should have to worry about where their children’s next meal is going to come from.”

Though fighting to save programs like SNAP is personal to Johansson, she was just one of many celebrities who lent their support to Feeding America’s mission by signing the letter to Congress.

Others who signed include Adina Porter, Alan Cumming, Bianca Lawson, Chrishell Stause, Dan Bucatinsky, Danai Gurira, Danielle Brooks, Daniella Pineda, David Arquette, Don Johnson, Karen Pittman, Kelvin Beachum, Kristin Chenoweth, Lana Parrilla, Liev Schreiber, Liza Colon-Zayas, Michael Chiklis, Michelle Williams, Minka Kelly, Nancy Travis, Paul Scheer, Ron Pope, Rosario Dawson, Ryan Eggold, Samantha Harris, Sheryl Crow, Zayn Malik and Zoey Deutch.

Johansson also isn’t the only famous name on the list to have opened up about experiencing food insecurity firsthand as a child.

In her 2023 memoir,Tell Me Everything, actress Minka Kelly shared her story growing up as the daughter of a single mother who worked at a Los Angeles strip club and struggled to make ends meet.

“If she made a lot of money that night, we’d go grocery shopping at 2 a.m.,” Kelly recalled in her book.

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Singer Zayn Malik has also previously campaigned for free school lunches, in his native United Kingdom. In 2022, he released a copy of a letter he wrote to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urging him to extend the threshold for children eligible for free school meals.

“These children are suffering from lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but can’t afford to buy lunch,” Malik wrote. “They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health. I know what that shame feels like, I have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, I relied on free school meals. I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity.”

“My hope is that in writing this letter we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now.”