Forced federal spending cuts intended to be equal and across-the-board have lately fallen harder on the nation’s poor, sick and elderly.

At the other end, the top brass of federal employees are on track to receive bonuses. And workers who impact the food and airline businesses, like meat inspectors and air traffic controllers, have managed to get a break from Congress.

But underprivileged children waiting to attend preschool, low-income seniors who rely on regular breakfasts from the government and elderly cancer patients seeking chemotherapy are among the first to really feel the impact of $85 billion in forced spending cuts that kicked in on March 1.