John,

Food insecurity happens in every single Congressional District in the country.¹ The average SNAP benefit is $6 per person per day, and for every $1 invested, between $1.50 to $1.80 of economic activity is generated.²

SNAP is not only our most effective anti-hunger program, it plays a crucial role in helping to reduce poverty, improves health and economic outcomes, is linked to better education outcomes and self-sufficiency, and plays an important role in rural communities.²

The 2021 update to the estimate of a modest but nutritious diet for SNAP households (the Thrifty Food Plan) reduced child poverty by 8.6% and reduced the severity of poverty for 6.2 million children.³

No one should go hungry in the richest country in the world. 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 focus on equitable access and program administration while increasing SNAP’s purchasing power.

Add your name to the petition to urge Congress to reject draconian cuts to the Farm Bill.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Poverty Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Congressional District, 2023
² SNAP Participants Across the U.S. Would Face Benefit Cut Under Plan to Restrict Future Thrifty Food Plan Updates
³ U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, August 20 – September 16, 2024, data tables, Food Table 1

-- MEREDITH'S EMAIL --

John,

After the election, extremists in the U.S. House are pushing to pass their Farm Bill, which cuts already low SNAP benefits by $30 billion over the next year.¹ We must not let that happen.

The Farm Bill is normally reauthorized every five years. It includes supports for farmers, conservation measures, assistance for rural areas, and vital nutrition programs―and could be a chance to build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable food and farm system, and meaningfully support workers and the next generation of farmers. The process has been stalled, and now Congressional leaders are looking to pass a Farm Bill before the end of this calendar year.²

One of the biggest points of contention is funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP. The House version of the bill that passed out of the Agriculture Committee earlier this year calls for a $30 billion cut to SNAP over the next decade.³ The Thrifty Food plan is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tool that estimates the cost of a healthy diet.⁴ In 2021, the USDA updated this policy by 23% due to inflation and rising food costs, a long overdue requirement from the last bipartisan Farm Bill which in return increased SNAP benefits.⁵

The Farm Bill is essential to our food supply and to low-income families who must access nutritious food. Sign the petition to demand Congress reject a Farm Bill with cuts to SNAP.

Historically, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have worked together on nutrition assistance, and, in particular, the U.S. Farm Bill, to ensure SNAP food benefits are available for low-income people in need. But with far-right extremists seemingly calling the shots in the House, even nutrition programs are under attack.

According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, 18 million households were food insecure in 2023.⁶

More than 40 million people participate in SNAP each month and each of them will be affected if $30 billion in cuts to future SNAP benefits are allowed to go into effect. We cannot allow Congress to reduce people’s ability to purchase nutritious food when we know such short-sighted cuts will threaten vulnerable people’s health and ability to put food on the table.

Join us in calling on Congress to work to protect and strengthen SNAP―don’t rush to pass a Farm Bill that takes food assistance away from people later this year.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ House Republicans press leaders for farm bill vote
² Lawmakers scramble to reach last-minute deal to save farm bill
³ House Committee Farm Bill’s $30 Billion SNAP Cut, Other Harmful Proposals Outweigh Improvements
⁴ Food-stamp benefits in the crosshairs as food insecurity rises
⁵ SNAP and the Thrifty Food Plan
⁶ Household Food Security in the United States in 2023