John,

Since the beginning of this year we’ve rung the alarm about funding threats to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides food to millions of children, veterans, and the aging -- now those threats are imminent.

Congress is entering negotiations over this year's farm bill, which is the legislation that reauthorizes SNAP and funds other agricultural programs. As a part of his deal to secure the necessary votes for the Speakership, Kevin McCarthy agreed to push for drastic spending cuts to domestic programs -- and since House Republicans don’t want to go on record cutting funding for Social Security, Medicare, and defense -- SNAP is now a major target, in the farm bill and in other budget-cutting proposals.

Write to your senators and representative right now and demand they protect, not cut, SNAP funding to help prevent hunger among millions of people with low incomes. In the richest country in the history of the world, no one should go hungry.

SNAP remains the most effective tool this country has to combat hunger for children and families, adults with disabilities, and veterans. The majority of working age people without disabilities who receive SNAP benefits are working or have worked recently. They just happen to work in unstable, low-paying jobs. SNAP benefits help them fill in the gaps between what they earn and the rising cost of groceries. It also frees up more money in their paychecks for housing and medical costs.¹ SNAP is already extremely restrictive for people age 18-49 who don’t have dependent children; they can receive SNAP for no more than three months in three years unless they can show they are working 20 hours a week. But some in Congress are trying to deny SNAP to millions more people -- extending the age limit to 65 for the three-month cut-off, and also placing this harsh time limit on adults with children over age 7.  

81% of SNAP recipients have a child, an older person, or a person with disabilities living in their household -- and they’ve already faced drastic cuts. The pandemic Emergency Allotment ended last month, reducing benefits by $95 a month on average in 17 million households in 35 states, leaving most recipients with $6 per person per day.²

The economic benefits of SNAP cannot be overstated. Every $1 in SNAP generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity that is felt throughout the economy -- from farmers, to food manufacturers, to grocers and store employees.³

Instead of implementing punitive funding cuts, Congress must work together and use the farm bill as a vehicle to protect and improve access to SNAP and other nutrition programs. They can make qualifying and enrolling in SNAP easier by simplifying and streamlining the process, by allowing U.S. territories -- like Puerto Rico -- to have full participation in the program, and by increasing SNAP’s purchasing power. And Congress must preserve the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update SNAP benefits to reflect the actual cost of nutritious food.⁴

Click here to send a message to Congress today to protect, not cut, SNAP funding for low-income children, older adults, people with disabilities, and veterans.

During this time of high inflation and exorbitant food prices, increasing access to quality food is more critical than ever.

Thank you for all you do to support critical human needs programs,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ SNAP Is and Remains Our Most Effective Tool to Combat Hunger
² A mile-long line for free food offers a warning as covid benefits end
³ Quantifying the Impact of SNAP Benefits on the U.S. Economy and Jobs
⁴ Why lawmakers must strengthen SNAP