Proposed Cuts to SNAP Threaten National Anti-Hunger Efforts

MANNA FoodBank is a nonpartisan organization committed to sharing facts and information about issues related to hunger in Western North Carolina and how they affect those we serve.

We believe food is a basic right, enabling all of us to pursue the life, liberty, and happiness afforded all Americans in our Constitution. The truth is, many people who work full-time jobs still cannot afford the food they need for their families to live and thrive. Still others struggle to find adequate work or compensation to make ends meet. This daily reality, where anyone working a full-time job, or desiring full employment, doesn’t make enough money to cover such a basic, fundamental need as food, fuels our great concern for current proposed legislation.

The House of Representatives just introduced a bill that will affect how federal hunger-fighting programs operate for years to come.

The House is currently considering proposed changes to the Farm Bill, the nation’s most consequential food-related legislation that provides for the most effective anti-hunger program in American history, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). More than 41 million Americans utilize SNAP throughout the year to help bridge temporary grocery gaps in their household budget. The majority of Americans that depend on this program for their main source of food are children and seniors.

Currently, proposed cuts would drop millions of people from being eligible for this life-saving program when they need it most. These proposed changes would end SNAP assistance for many low-income parents of young children, older Americans, and working families.

The truth is, the proposed cuts to SNAP currently being considered by Congress would be devastating to our communities, especially for our most vulnerable citizens: our children, and our seniors. We believe that seniors in their later years should not have to choose between purchasing necessary medicines or feeding themselves. We find it alarming that Congress would allow malnourished American children to be the “new norm” if they enact these proposed changes.

For every meal provided by a food bank, SNAP provides 12. Food banks and other charities cannot possibly make up for these proposed cuts to SNAP. The proposed cuts would eliminate at least 10% of current funding levels, which essentially doubles what food banks would need to provide to make up for the deficit.

With food banks already struggling to meet the current need for food, any cuts to this program would completely overwhelm our network. At the end of the day, this means that people would go hungry.

We are asking you to join us in calling your representatives on Tuesday, May 8 and demand they vote NO on any cuts to SNAP.

WE NEED YOUR VOICE

Community support is what makes food banks’ work possible. Community support is the only thing that can affect positive changes to this legislation.

We believe every individual should be able to fulfill their dreams and reach towards their greatest potential, and that all begins with having enough to eat.  We need for those drafting changes to the bill to work with food policy advocates to draft fair, common-sense, and humane legislation that doesn’t punish our nation’s children, seniors, and low-income working families.

EASY WAY TO CONNECT TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

Thanks to Feeding America, our national organization of food banks addressing hunger across the country, there is a very simple way to connect with your representative, and have your voice heard.

• Dial 1-888-398-8702
• Follow the prompts to be connected to your Representative
• Tell them you’re a constituent, and urge them to vote NO on the Farm Bill (H.R. 2) and oppose any cuts to SNAP food assistance.

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR CALLING YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

Hello, my name is _______ and I am a voter, and a supporter/volunteer/board member/etc. for MANNA FoodBank, which serves tens of thousands of constituents in your district who need emergency access to food.

I’m calling today to insist that you VOTE NO to any cuts to SNAP. The cuts to SNAP in the current version of the Farm Bill are indiscriminant, and would punish the most vulnerable Americans: our children and our seniors. Simply put, these cuts will mean that Americans will go hungry.

SNAP is vital to the overall effort to fight hunger in America. In fact, it is hands-down the most effective anti-hunger program in American history.

We believe every American has a right to food. It is the basic necessity that allows us all to pursue the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness our Consititution affords every American. The truth is many people who work full-time jobs still cannot afford the food they need for their families to live and thrive. Still others struggle to find adequate work or compensation to make ends meet. No one working a full-time job, or desiring full employment, should be in a situation where they can’t make enough money to cover such a basic, fundamental need as food.