John,

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a daunting series of challenges for our country: not only are people facing a national public health emergency, but they are struggling to feed their families, as the economy hemorrhages millions of jobs.

Because of the pandemic, we are seeing an unprecedented surge in Americans going without enough food. The lack of food and the struggle to eat a healthy meal is placing the hardest burdens on racial minorities and frontline workers, whose jobs tend to be low-paying. In the early weeks of the pandemic, one in five adults in the U.S. didn't have enough food to eat, according to the Urban Institute.

Not only are we facing a public health crisis, but about half of all households have lost income from work and millions have lost their jobs during the pandemic, creating a massive recession. The official May unemployment rate hit 13.3 percent, but errors acknowledged by the Bureau of Labor Statistics would raise that to over 16 percent; and the combined unemployed and underemployed rate spiked to more than 20 percent. Increasing SNAP and child nutrition assistance benefits is an effective way to not only ensure everyone has access to healthy foods, but these programs are a proven way to quickly and effectively stimulate the economy.

Add your name! Join CHN and our national coalition to demand the U.S. Senate take immediate action to increase SNAP and child nutrition assistance benefits. We are living in a dual crisis: near depression level jobless rates and millions of Americans without enough food to eat.

Essential workers are almost twice as likely as non-essential workers to use SNAP benefits because health, agriculture, food, and transportation workers earn disproportionately low wages.  

Black and brown communities throughout the United States are several times as likely to face an even greater need. As the nation wrestles with our difficult history of racial injustice, we must also consider these facts: 23.5 percent of Black households with children said they "sometimes or often" did not have enough food to eat during the past week; 18.4 percent of Latinx people said the same; compared to 9 percent of white people.

Together, we must fight for racial equality and social justice. Making sure everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, has enough food to feed their families, is a critical first step.

Sign if you agree! The Senate must immediately pass legislation to boost funding for SNAP and child nutrition assistance and other essential programs to fight food insecurity throughout our country.

The positive economic impacts of increased SNAP, WIC and school meals funding are well known. These programs provide an effective boost to the economy because recipients spend benefits quickly, with positive impacts felt up and down the food chain—from farmers and food producers, to grocery retailers, stock clerks and local economies.

Each $1 of SNAP benefits during a downturn, for example, generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity.

We have all seen the pictures of people waiting hours for food at emergency food sites throughout the country. That is unacceptable. We must unite our voices to compel change.

Add your name! Tell your Senators to act immediately to fight food insecurity.

Let's demand Congress and the White House act now to increase the SNAP maximum benefit by 15 percent; suspend rules that reduce SNAP eligibility and benefits; extend and expand the programs to reach all children missing out on meals they used to receive at school or child care; and strengthen the ability of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to respond to the COVID crisis.

People in our country, regardless of income, must be able to eat. It is that simple.

Thank you for your support during this challenging time,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs