Hi John - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused families throughout the country to struggle. For many, like my family, the challenge is figuring out how to balance working from home while preventing my kids from sitting in front of a screen all day. For millions of other families around the country, however, the struggle is more basic and scary – are they going to have enough food to feed their kids every day? SNAP benefits are essential to help families have enough food to eat as the economy recovers and they get back on their feet. But the benefits don’t go far enough and don’t cover enough families. Ask your members of Congress to expand SNAP benefits so kids don’t go hungry! Even during normal times, 1 in 7 kids in the United States face hunger and 20 million of them rely on the food they get from SNAP. Estimates are that now, almost 1 in 5 young children are not getting enough to eat – 3 times higher than during the worst period of the Great Recession.[1] Rural and African-American children are often most at risk. The highest food insecurity rate in the nation is in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, which is 69% African-American and where 40% of children struggle with hunger.[2] SNAP benefits, however, often don’t last the entire month. Families have to rely on food banks to make up the difference. Unfortunately, many rural areas around the country don’t have these services. Save the Children works with a number of rural families facing food insecurity. One is a grandmother, Reetha, who is caring for her grandchildren in rural Kentucky. Reetha shared that when she runs out of food stamps, she has to reduce the servings of food she gives her grandchildren. She knows her grandkids – ages 4, 3, 2 and 11 months – are hungry. We must do better for kids like Reetha’s grandchildren! Urge Congress to increase funding for SNAP today! With children around the house more, many school lunch programs ending for the summer, and prices going up, benefits are not going nearly far enough. When kids have enough to eat, they are able to succeed in life and are in better health. When children grow up smarter, stronger and healthier, we have a smarter, stronger, healthier nation. Ask your members of Congress to ensure more kids don’t go hungry by increasing SNAP funding to meet the increased demand. Thank you for being a voice for kids, | 
