Food Banks are facing a crisis now like never before. The lines at food distributions are growing longer, and potential cuts to TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) can have devastating effects on the people we serve.

SNAP bridges the gap for millions of children, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities in America who are facing rough patches and need help feeding their family and getting back on their feet.

We need Congress’s support to make improvements that ensure families get enough food to eat and keep SNAP working. Click the button below to contact your Representatives and let them know you support these essential government programs.

SNAP STATISTICS

• The Current House Proposal Axes SNAP. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed extra work requirements and other restrictions would take food away from two million people – mostly families with children.

The latest plan punishes military families who move around often because it will be tough for a military spouse to find a job in a new place within one month in order to qualify for SNAP. This plan also hurts people in their 50s who are looking for work, which on average takes 31 weeks for this older age group (BLS).

• Current Work Requirements Already Exist. SNAP already requires able-bodied adults without dependents up to age 49 to work or be in a training or education program within 3 months or else they lose their benefits. It’s important to point out that SNAP recipients don’t stay on SNAP very long. Nearly three-quarters of adults who participate in SNAP in a typical month are either working that very same month or get back to work within a year

• America’s Children, Seniors, Veterans, and Working Poor Need SNAP. 

○  Children: SNAP helps feed 1-in-4 children across the United States. Cutting access to SNAP for families also risks cutting access to other programs for low-income kids like the free school lunch program.

○  Seniors: SNAP provides nearly 5 million seniors with the resources they need to afford an adequate diet.

○  Veterans: SNAP helps nearly 2 million struggling U.S. veterans put food on the table in their households.

○ Low-Wage Workers: Approximately half of America’s fast food workers and approximately half of childcare workers participate in public support programs like SNAP. (Source: University of California, Berkeley)

• SNAP Supports the U.S. Economy Too. SNAP supports the whole U.S. food chain – from farmers and ranchers, to local retailers and manufacturers, to people who struggle to feed their families. Every $1 in SNAP benefits generates roughly $1.79 in economic activity in America (USDA).

• SNAP Is Effective. SNAP helps millions of people facing tough times lift themselves and their children out of poverty and get back on their feet. According to recent research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, SNAP lowers the poverty rate by 5% to 10% and I lowers the deep poverty rate by 10% to 20%. In the long term, low-income children in families that receive SNAP food assistance are healthier and more likely to be working when they grow up (University of California, Berkeley + Northwestern University + Columbia University study).

• SNAP Is Popular. In study after study conducted by university researchers, 4-in-5 people are in favor of increased or maintained federal spending on SNAP.