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Congress must reject any and all funding cuts to essential nutrition programs

If the Farm Bill to be considered in the House Committee on Agriculture on May 23 becomes law, it will mean a cut of nearly $30 billion in future SNAP benefits over a decade.

Such cuts are unconscionable. For many children, they will make learning more difficult and lead to negative health outcomes. They will force families and older adults to choose between putting food on the table and paying for other expenses such as rent, utility bills, or prescription drugs. They will also harm our economy, removing the stimulative benefits of SNAP and even hurting farmers and ranchers along the way.

SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger program in the U.S. It reduces hunger by 30% and provides nutritious meals to one-quarter of America’s children.

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The House bill makes these cuts by limiting the USDA’s ability to update the Thrifty Food Plan, which determines SNAP benefit levels, to reflect the real costs of a nutritious diet, based on science, along with reflecting food prices that remain stubbornly high. This will make it tougher for families experiencing food insecurity as well as the food banks that aid them. These would be the largest cuts to SNAP benefits in almost 30 years if enacted. In addition, these changes will trigger more than $500 million in cuts to Summer EBT, which provides grocery benefits to children in low-income families during the summer when schools are closed, along with $100 million in cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides food for food banks and food pantries to distribute to individuals and families.

The House bill also would allow states to let private corporations take over determining eligibility for SNAP. Where this has been tried, replacing merit-based staff resulted in corporate skimping on careful help to people applying for or renewing benefits in order to maximize profits. It would also reverse previously enacted steps to reduce agriculture-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

During this time when many families grapple with the cost of housing and food, Congress must do everything in its power to provide relief to those who need it most.

Click “Start Writing” to send a message to Congress urging them to reject any and all cuts to nutrition programs in the FY2025 Farm Bill.

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Poor People’s Campaign: National Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers Assembly

June 21, 2021 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

On Monday, June 21st, poor people, low-wage workers, moral and faith leaders, advocates and our growing coalition of supporters will gather online simultaneously with a (socially-distant) rally in Raleigh, North Carolina for a National Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers Assembly. The Coalition on Human Needs is proud to support and participate.

More than 140 million people across the United States live in or near poverty, struggle with low wages and are one emergency away from economic ruin. 250,000 people die every year from poverty in the wealthiest nation on the planet.

We can’t be silent anymore in the face of this reality.

The First Reconstruction followed the Civil War. The civil rights struggles of the 20th century proved to be the Second Reconstruction. Our Third Reconstruction will be a revival of our constitutional commitment to establish justice, provide for the general welfare, end decades of austerity, and recognize that policies which center the 140 million people, who struggle financially, are also good economic policies that can heal and transform our nation.

Here’s what we are going to do: This Monday, on June 21st at 5:30 p.m. ET we will gather online from all 50 U.S. states and territories. Together, we will build a strong coalition of people to fight for our country’s Third Reconstruction.

We are already beginning to plan for the Poor People’s Campaign for next year—and Monday’s event is the first public step. Next June’s event will be a generationally-transformative in-person Moral March on Washington on June 18, 2022. Together, next summer, we will flood the streets of Washington, DC and create a national stage for the voices and leadership of people directly impacted by poverty, racism and their interlocking injustices.

RSVP for the digital rally here.

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Details

Date:
June 21, 2021
Time:
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Website:
https://www.3rdreconstruction.org/

Organizer

Poor People’s Campaign