| Peter ,
After the election, extremists in the U.S. House are pushing to pass their Farm Bill, which cuts already low SNAP benefits by $30 billion over the next year.1 We must not let that happen.
The Farm Bill is normally reauthorized every five years. It includes supports for farmers, conservation measures, assistance for rural areas, and vital nutrition programs―and could be a chance to build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable food and farm system, and meaningfully support workers and the next generation of farmers. The process has been stalled, and now Congressional leaders are looking to pass a Farm Bill before the end of this calendar year.2
One of the biggest points of contention is funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP. The House version of the bill that passed out of the Agriculture Committee earlier this year calls for a $30 billion cut to SNAP over the next decade.3 The Thrifty Food plan is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tool that estimates the cost of a healthy diet.4 In 2021, the USDA updated this policy by 23% due to inflation and rising food costs, a long overdue requirement from the last bipartisan Farm Bill which in return increased SNAP benefits.5
The Farm Bill is essential to our food supply and to low-income families who must access nutritious food. Sign the petition to demand Congress reject a Farm Bill with cuts to SNAP.
ADD YOUR NAMEHistorically, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have worked together on nutrition assistance, and, in particular, the U.S. Farm Bill, to ensure SNAP food benefits are available for low-income people in need. But with far-right extremists seemingly calling the shots in the House, even nutrition programs are under attack.
According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, 18 million households were food insecure in 2023.6
More than 40 million people participate in SNAP each month and each of them will be affected if $30 billion in cuts to future SNAP benefits are allowed to go into effect. We cannot allow Congress to reduce people’s ability to purchase nutritious food when we know such short-sighted cuts will threaten vulnerable people’s health and ability to put food on the table.
Join us in calling on Congress to work to protect and strengthen SNAP―don’t rush to pass a Farm Bill that takes food assistance away from people later this year.
Thank you for all you do,
Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action
1 House Republicans press leaders for farm bill vote
2 Lawmakers scramble to reach last-minute deal to save farm bill
3 House Committee Farm Bill’s $30 Billion SNAP Cut, Other Harmful Proposals Outweigh Improvements
4 Food-stamp benefits in the crosshairs as food insecurity rises
5 SNAP and the Thrifty Food Plan
6 Household Food Security in the United States in 2023
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