For many of us, the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted nearly all of normal life. Businesses closed, either temporarily or permanently. People lost jobs and income. Children were not attending school in person. And millions of Americans were suddenly facing an unexpected problem: hunger. Temporary increases to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits helped ease that suffering for families across Alabama and nationwide. But those benefits will expire at the end of February, and that means hunger is likely to get worse again. Click here to read Alabama Arise's new blog post on the end of emergency SNAP allotments. As the end of the official federal pandemic emergency declaration approaches, Alabama families receiving SNAP benefits are facing a benefit decrease that will cut their food assistance significantly. State and local officials can’t stop the expiration of these temporary SNAP benefits. But they can and should act in other ways to help Alabama families deal with higher food costs. School districts should expand access to free school meals. The state should fund a program that makes fruits and vegetables more readily available for SNAP participants. And legislators should untax groceries to make it easier for every Alabamian to keep food on the table. Read our new blog post for more on how lawmakers could ease the suffering brought on by the expiration of emergency SNAP allotments. |
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