Hunger1

Is this what some Members of Congress think when they go home at night? Since their kids have enough food to eat, why should they worry about those pesky 17 million who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from?

New data from Feeding America tells us that 50 million Americans are food insecure, and that 17 million of these individuals are kids. Kids who need adequate nutrition in order for their minds and bodies to develop properly. Kids who desperately need enough food to succeed in school – and ultimately, in life.

Food security/insecurity refers to food availability and an individual’s ability to access it. Essentially, it means whether or not a person is sure of where their next meal is coming from. Click here to see more information about food insecurity from the Food Research and Action Center.

Again: 50 million people are food insecure. Think about it – that means a LOT of people don’t have a reliable way to get food on a daily basis. And a lot of these people depend on government assistance such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in order to get the little sustenance that they can.

A lot of fiscal conservatives think that the SNAP program is out of control – and they want to cut it. They cite the fact that the SNAP participant rolls have increased substantially over the last few years and thus, spending on the program has gone up. Yep – that’s true. And it’s also true that the recession put millions of people out of jobs, out of their homes, and into food insecure positions and poverty. So it kind of seems like common sense that the number of people on SNAP would increase as poverty increased.

Still, many in Congress don’t seem to comprehend (or care) how devastating it would be to take away programs like SNAP from impoverished families. Right now, Congress is trying to come to an agreement on the farm bill – legislation that sets federal policy on forestry, nutrition, conservation and agriculture – and both chambers have set out plans to deeply cut nutrition aid.

The Senate has already passed a farm bill (S. 954) that cuts SNAP funding by $4.1 billion over ten years. Although unacceptable in the eyes of most nutrition advocates, this is almost a paltry sum compared to the House farm bill now being debated (H.R. 1947), which plans to slash $20.5 billion from the program over the same time period.

Today Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) will bring an amendment to the House floor to reverse the SNAP cuts in H.R. 1947. The amendment does not have enough votes to pass, that is clear – but the level of support it gets will be a prime indicator of the bill’s future.

It’s clear to me – as it should be to all Members of Congress – that cutting SNAP will hurt and endanger millions of families and their children. Rest assured that everyone in the nutrition advocacy community will continue to fight tirelessly to keep our kids fed…

…but what can YOU do? Contact your MOCs today and tell them that cuts to SNAP in the farm bill are unconscionable. It doesn’t take much effort, but it’s something. And those 50 million will thank you.

Stayed tuned – the fight’s not over yet.

For more on cuts to nutrition in the farm bill, read my last two articles for CHN: House and Senate Agriculture Committees Back Farm Bills with Significant Cuts to SNAP (May 29) and Senate Passes Farm Bill with Cuts to SNAP as House Prepares to Bring Even More Devastating Bill to the Floor (June 17).