John,

Congress is rushing to finalize critical legislation before it adjourns for the year and one bill that needs passage this month is the Farm Bill.

Included in the Farm Bill are critical nutrition assistance programs including SNAP (food stamps), which millions of Americans need in order to feed their families. Most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and according to Feeding America, more than 44 million Americans experience food insecurity. In my district in Michigan, the food insecurity rate is higher than the national average; you can click here to see what the food insecurity rate is in your community.

This year, the House version of the Farm Bill seeks to cut SNAP nutrition benefits by $30 billion. But the Senate version, introduced by my state’s Senator Debbie Stabenow, makes critical improvements to SNAP to better cover the costs of a healthy diet, expands SNAP access for college students facing hunger, increases funding for local food banks, creates a long-overdue path for Puerto Rico to access SNAP benefits, removes the lifetime ban on nutrition assistance for individuals convicted of a drug-related felony, and more.¹ We need improvements like these, not cruel cuts.

Help ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season. Add your name to tell Congress: Strengthen—don’t cut—SNAP nutrition benefits in the Farm Bill.

Last year, 22% of Black people in the U.S. experienced food insecurity—more than twice the rate of white people.² Meanwhile, Native communities face food insecurity at three times the rate of white U.S. residents and roughly 25% of Native people rely on federal nutrition assistance.³

The Farm Bill can also remove barriers for Native communities accessing critical nutrition assistance. Right now, Native people who qualify for SNAP and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations are prohibited from accessing both nutrition programs in the same month.⁴ Advocates with the Native Farm Bill Coalition are calling to address this issue in the Farm Bill, reminding us that the federal government has a responsibility to Tribes, including ensuring adequate resources such as food.  

Through this Farm Bill, we have an opportunity to address long-standing inequities in marginalized communities, including disproportionate rates of hunger. As with many community needs, our country can easily pay to expand resources like SNAP by reducing the military budget, which two-thirds of the House voted to pass last week.

Add your name now to urge Congress to pass a Farm Bill this month that strengthens SNAP and addresses the crisis of hunger in our communities.

In love and service,

Rashida

¹ The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act Summary
² Hunger hits Black communities harder
³ Seeds of Native Health: A Campaign for Indigenous Nutrition
⁴ FDPIR Factsheet