Send Congress an SOS on child hunger

The AFT co-hosted a briefing on June 16 with the Food Research & Action Center, along with several other allies, on looming cuts to school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. After the webinar, activists followed up with calls and letters to Congress the next day. Here’s how you can help, too.

Proposed cuts to SNAP won’t just hurt families at the grocery store—they also could reduce the number of kids who receive free school breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks. If we keep up the pressure, though, we can defeat these cuts.

Republicans are fond of saying that private charity can solve our country’s problems. But charity alone cannot solve hunger. For every meal that food banks provide, federal SNAP benefits provide nine meals.

Despite this reality, top Republicans in Congress have proposed slashing nutrition programs that could result in up to 18 million children losing access to school meals. The AFT was proud to co-host this webinar on the effects these dangerous cuts to SNAP would have on children.

“These proposals would not ‘reform’ SNAP and would decidedly not make it more efficient,” says AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus. “Just the opposite. They would increase paperwork, dump the burden on states and make hunger worse. They would inflict long-term harm on our kids.”

If you’d like a quick tutorial that can help you educate your community on the importance of this program, take a look at these five things that everyone should know about SNAP. Informally known as food stamps, this benefit keeps families fed and kids focused on their schoolwork. It helps more than 42 million Americans put food in the fridge and meals on the table. SNAP is one of our nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs, as it supports food security, better health and higher academic performance.

Yet, Senate Republicans have introduced a budget reconciliation bill that echoes the House’s approach to SNAP, proposing sweeping and deeply concerning cuts. While not identical to the House bill, the Senate legislation poses an equally serious threat to food assistance for millions of Americans.

A handful of billionaires would get richer while working families would face weaker supports to meet their basic needs, which in turn would trigger rising hunger and deeper poverty. These proposed cuts pose a direct threat to the resilience of schoolchildren and the school employees who feed them, plus farmers, grocers, rural food systems and communities across the country.

SNAP is not a driver of the federal deficit but instead drives the health, well-being and future of our nation. For families with young children, SNAP increases the likelihood of affording enough food by 22 percent and reduces by 33 percent the chances of cutting children’s meal sizes, compared with nonparticipating families eligible for the program. Children in SNAP households enjoy better health, growth and academic outcomes compared with their peers.

Mean-spirited provisions

Just how bad is this bill? For one thing, starting in fiscal 2027, it would reduce the federal government’s share of SNAP administrative costs from 50 percent to 25 percent, requiring states to pay the remaining 75 percent. States can’t afford that—it’s why the federal government picked up SNAP costs in the first place.

This bill also would raise the age requiring adults without dependents to work, from 54 to 64, forcing many relatives with child care duties out of their work as unpaid caregivers. It also would narrow the definition of a dependent child to those under age 10, stranding families with children ages 10 and up. And it would limit caregiving exemptions, further hampering families’ ability to make ends meet. These provisions would do nothing but increase poverty and hunger.

Take action now

As the Republican-led Congress finalizes legislation that would cut food and healthcare assistance to ensure that the rich get even richer, you can do something to help stop it. Take these steps:

Keep calling. Dial up the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to make sure your senators hear you tell them to vote no on the reconciliation bill. They must protect SNAP and reject proposals to cut or weaken this proven anti-hunger program. You can share in your message how cuts to SNAP limit school meals.

Get loud on social media. Tag your senators in your posts and ask them to vote no. Use FRAC’s digital toolkit to find sample posts and graphics. And use the hashtag #ProtectSNAP.

Write to your elected officials. Send a letter urging them to vote no on the bill. This template will empower you to tell your members of Congress they must oppose any legislation that cuts SNAP or Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for people struggling with poverty. We owe it to our communities not to leave working families behind.

If you can, mention your own work experiences, which will help your elected officials understand what a horrible toll this bill would take on people’s health and children’s access to school meals.

[Annette Licitra]