To the editor:
I am both pleased and saddened by the story “The Food Box Program at Berkshire Hills Regional School District.” This is a wonderful program, yet our need for it tells a bigger story.
On Tuesday, November 12, Congress returns to a lame-duck session and there will be a rush to negotiate an end-of-the-year spending package which must include a Farm Bill extension/reorganization. The current Continuing Resolution will expire on December 20.
What is the Farm Bill? The law began 90 years ago with various payments to support farmers but now has an impact far beyond the farm, with programs to create wildlife habitat, address climate change, and provide the nation’s largest federal nutrition program. The Farm Bill also authorizes international food aid programs like Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole Food for Education. Funding these international nutrition programs is a smart investment as studies show that for every $1 invested, society recoups as much as $35 in economic returns.
With increasing food insecurity, as demonstrated in the article on the Food Box Program, and with marked increases in the reliance on food pantries, advocacy for improved Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits within the Farm Bill is needed. We must oppose the House Farm Bill which cuts SNAP by $30 billion over 10 years. This is based on a funding calculation that would place limits on the “Thrifty Food Plan” formula that calculates benefits for SNAP. It would keep SNAP payments at their current levels but place a permanent freeze on the ability of future presidents to raise levels of food support. This has been projected to be a $30 billion loss over 10 years by the CBO. All SNAP participants would face benefit cuts under this proposal, including 17 million children, 6 million folks over 60, and 4 million disabled people. And $11 billion of that $30 billion would impact working households receiving SNAP benefits.
The 2023 census poverty data released in September shows that SNAP kept 3.4 million people—many of them children—out of poverty last year. SNAP provides food assistance to nearly 40 million Americans monthly. Most of these recipients are working families with children, elderly persons, and people with disabilities.
An “explosive” new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveals that food insecurity in the U.S. has reached its highest level in nearly a decade, with about 18 million families (or 13.5 percent of U.S. households) being food insecure. With significant investments in SNAP, Healthy School Meals for All, and the Child Tax Credit, we could decrease poverty today.
We have the tools to end hunger and reduce poverty; we simply need the political will to do so. If you would like to learn more about effectively advocating for poverty solutions, both domestically and globally, take a look at the resources available at RESULTS.org.
Leslye Heilig, M.D.
Great Barrington
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