Dear John,

Even before the coronavirus hit, keeping food on the table and in kids’ lunchboxes was a daily struggle for millions of Americans across the country, including hundreds of thousands of Oregonians. Right here in America -- the richest country in the history of the world. That’s disturbing and completely unacceptable.

No person in our state or our country should be going to bed hungry at night. And luckily, thanks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- one of the federal government’s most effective and efficient programs that 43 million Americans rely on to keep food on their tables -- we’ve made major strides in reducing food insecurity and hunger in communities across America.

But right now, as the coronavirus has claimed over 172,000 American lives and cost our workers over 10 million jobs, we need to do everything we can to make sure nutrition programs are strong and will be there for all the families who need them. That’s why I’ve been urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue offering critical flexibility that has allowed children and their families to easily access much-needed meals during this pandemic. This flexibility has allowed schools to come together to create breakfast and lunch pickup locations for their students while their doors are closed during this public health emergency.

Yesterday, I headed to my alma mater, David Douglas High School in Portland, to see up close how these Grab and Go Meals have become a critical lifeline for Oregonians.



During these difficult times, I was heartened to see Oregonians coming together to tackle hunger head on, and am deeply grateful for the food service workers and administrators who are facilitating these meal pickups across Oregon.

Our fight to take on food insecurity and hunger is only going to become more and more important as the economic impacts of the coronavirus deepen. From March to April of this year, 6 million people became newly eligible for SNAP benefits, known informally as food stamps. Within the first week of August, after President Trump and his allies in the Senate decided to cut pandemic unemployment insurance benefits for millions of Americans, applications for the program increased by 37% in Oregon alone, with 5,8000 new applications for benefits. I’m going to keep using my position as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the USDA to keep pushing to increase monthly SNAP benefits during the pandemic and ensure that SNAP has the resources it needs to meet the challenges of these unprecedented times.

We’re all in this pandemic together -- and we have a responsibility to make sure that our friends, family, and neighbors aren’t going hungry. Let’s keep looking out for each other and working together to end food insecurity once and for all.

All my best,
Jeff