📩 People Power calls on Congress to protect and strengthen SNAP
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
People Power United joined other local, state, and federal organizations to urge Congress to protect and strengthen SNAP. Shout out to Food Research & Action Center for leading this effort. Here is the coalition letter sent on behalf of People Power United members:
July 9, 2024
We, the 1,422 national, state, and local organizations representing communities across the country, urge the House and Senate to develop a Farm Bill that ensures that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is protected and strengthened and that benefit adequacy, equitable access, and program administration remain core tenets of the program. We will oppose any Farm Bill — including the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 — which proposes cuts to SNAP including restricting future Thrifty Food Plan benefit adjustments, nearly $30 billion in cuts over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office, in addition to provisions outsourcing administrative functions currently required to be performed by public sector merit employees. The bill also paves the way for future efforts to undermine the equity and autonomy in how SNAP participants can use benefits in ways that meet their cultural, dietary, and health needs.
Strengthening SNAP and the commodity assistance programs ensures that the more than 41 million people who continue to rely on SNAP benefits every month to put food on the table — during a time of increased rent and health care costs — can access and afford the nutrition they need to thrive.
The Farm Bill presents a unique opportunity for Congress to make progress against food insecurity and hunger, especially considering that food insecurity touches people in every Congressional District. Strengthening SNAP and the commodity assistance programs — The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Food Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program — will go a long way to end poverty-related hunger.
Every dollar invested in SNAP is a dollar we invest into our nation and its people. And this investment has a strong ripple effect. Studies show that increases in SNAP benefits directly correlate to improved health outcomes and decreased visits to emergency rooms, which decreases Medicaid costs. In addition to its health, nutrition, and overall improved well-being attributes, SNAP also supports local economies — each dollar in federally funded SNAP benefits generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity during a weak economy.
Yet, despite its many strengths, we expect a lot of output from a program where the average benefit is only $6 per person per day. During a time of sharply increased costs at grocery stores and other living expenses, it is ill-advised to weaken SNAP and the commodity programs as it will only deepen America’s hunger crisis.
SNAP is our nation’s most impactful anti-hunger program. Congress should ensure that SNAP benefits reach all those in need, including households with children, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities, and residents of the U.S. territories, so that all can thrive. Equally important, Congress must protect SNAP from damaging policies that would undermine its effectiveness and increase hunger and food insecurity. This includes ensuring that future Thrifty Food Plan adjustments allow benefits to keep pace with the cost of a healthy diet based on factors such as the latest dietary guidance and food consumption patterns.
Historically, the Farm Bill has been a bipartisan effort that has prioritized improving the lives of millions of households who struggle to get the nutrition they need. We urge Congress to return to this core Farm Bill principle and only advance a bold and equitable Farm Bill that protects and strengthens SNAP and the commodity assistance programs that support millions of households in every corner of our country.
National Organizations
20/20 Vision
211 Helpline
211 PBTC
ACA Consumer Advocacy
ADAP Advocacy
Advocates for Better Children's Diets
AFL-CIO
AFSCME CN17
AFT
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas
All4Ed
Alliance for a Just Society
Alliance for Retired Americans
Alliance of Baptists
Alliance to End Hunger
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) American Friends Service Committee
American Medical Women's Association
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
ASNNA
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
Autistic People of Color Fund
BCTGM International Union
Bernardine Franciscan Sisters
Bread For the City
Bread for the World
CACFP Roundtable
Caring Ambassadors Program
Catholic Social Services
Center for Digital Democracy
Center for Employment Training
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Chef Mikey, LLC
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Children's HealthWatch
ChopChop Family
Church World Service
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Coalition on Human Needs
Collaborative Solutions, Inc.
Common Sense Media
Common Threads
CommonSpirit Health
Community Access National network (CANN)
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces Congressional Research Institute for Social Work Policy Cooperative School of Christian Missions
Council for Professional Recognition
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Doctors for America
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa Peace and Justice Office Drug Policy Alliance
E Pluribus Unum
EMPath (Economic Mobility Pathways)
End Hunger Network
Endeavor Health
Environmental Working Group
Equitable Spaces
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Families USA
Family Centered Treatment Foundation
Farmers Market Coalition
First Focus on Children
FMB&Associates
Food is Medicine Coalition
Food Recovery Network
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Food Systems Collaborative
FoodCorps
FoodFinder, Inc.
Futures Without Violence
GRIT Strategies
Healthy Teen Network
HealthyWomen
HIV Medicine Association
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Home Grown
Hunger Free America
iFoster
Impact Fund
Inside the Sun Inc
Institute for Educational Leadership
Integrated Community Solutions, Inc
Islamic Relief USA
Jewish Women International
Justice and Joy National Collaborative (formerly National Crittenton) Justice in Aging
JustUS Coordinating Council
Lulus Local Food
Main Street Alliance
Marshallese Educational Initiative
MaryCatherine Jones Consulting
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Meals on Wheels America
Michelson Center for Public Policy
MomsRising
mRelief
MY Project USA
National Afterschool Association
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Association for Family Child Care
National Association of Counsel for Children
National Association of RSVP Directors
National Association of Social Workers
National CACFP Forum
National Center on Adoption and Permanency
National Child Care Association
National Co+op Grocers
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Commodity Supplemental Food Program Association National Community Action Partnership
National Council of Churches
National Council of Jewish Women
National Disability Institute
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Head Start Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND) National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
National Union of Health Care Employees 1199 AFSCME/ AFL-CIO National WIC Association
National Women's Law Center
National Women's Political Caucus
National Young Farmers Coalition
Nenana Native Association
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
NOA
North America Food Systems Network
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE) Operation Love Inc
Our Bodies Ourselves
Oxfam America
Parents as Teachers
ParentsTogether Action
Partners in Care Foundation
People Power United
Per Scholas
PO3/ AARP
Poetry X Hunger
Precise Portions
Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness Protect All Children's Environment
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Health Institute's Center for Wellness and Nutrition REDF
Region VII Head Start Association
Replate
RESULTS
RootsAction.org
Save the Children
Save the Children Action Network
School-Based Health Alliance
Seeds of Hope Publishers
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Share Our Strength
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate
Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
Society for Public Health Education
Society of St. Andrew
Society of St Vincent de Paul, St Leo Conference Food Pantry Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative
SparkWheel, Inc.
StrongHearts Native Helpline
Swipe Out Hunger
the Educare Network
The Institute for College Access & Success
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The National Domestic Violence Hotline
The National Harm Reduction Coalition
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society The Urban Health and Education Consultants
The Workers Circle
Trans Empowerment Project
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Church of Christ
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) United Women in Faith
Urban Health Collaborative
Urban Oasis Project, Inc
USAging
Voices for Progress
Wallace Center at Winrock International
When The Trumpet Sounds
Women's HQ
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, US World Renew
WZA Consultant
Young Invincibles
Youth First Justice Collaborative
Youth Villages
ZERO TO THREE
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