URGENT: If SNAP Isn't Expanded, People Will Starve

Right now, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cannot meet the massive demand across the country. If it's not expanded, people will starve.

SNAP not only ensures that people have food on the table, but is also proven to stimulate the U.S. economy. During the Great Recession, every dollar spent on SNAP yielded $1.74 in economic returns.

People's lives are at stake. Take action to demand that Congress expand SNAP in the next relief package.

{contact_data~title} {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName} {contact_data~suffix},
{contact_data~organization}

As your constituent, I'm writing to urge you to prioritize further investment in and expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the next federal response package to the COVID-19 crisis.

I am shocked to see that SNAP was excluded from the CARES Act. As millions lose their jobs, SNAP, like unemployment insurance, must be ready to meet unprecedented demand.

During the Great Recession, additional funding for SNAP provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was one of the most effective ways of providing relief to both struggling families and the economy. For every $1 spent on the program, studies show that an additional $1.74 was generated in economic output. The absence of additional funding for the program during the COVID-19 crisis, which is many times worse than the recession in 2009, is unconscionable.

There are commonsense policies Congress can implement to help millions of Americans weather this crisis and build back an already severely depleted economy.

- Increase and expand SNAP benefits: On average, SNAP benefits only amount to $1.40 per person, per meal. Even before the pandemic, most families ran out of their benefits before the month was over. We should increase the maximum SNAP benefit by at least 15 percent, as Congress did through the ARRA.

- Make long-term structural changes: The current benefit calculation is based on the most frugal budget used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Congress must change from this Thrifty Food Plan to the Low-Cost Meal Plan. It should also eliminate asset limits and waive work requirements in order to limit the administrative burdens applicants face.

- Stop regulatory attacks: Congress should ensure that the USDA's proposed rules, which experts have found would collectively take SNAP benefits away from 3.2 million people, should not be implemented--arguably ever, but certainly not during this crisis.

Any further delay to investing in SNAP will inflict even more pain and suffering on millions of already struggling Americans.

Food banks, which are already seeing miles-long car lines in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, simply cannot meet this level of demand. And they shouldn't have to. You and your peers in Congress have the ability and the responsibility to do something about this growing food insecurity crisis, and I hope you will.

Thank you for your attention to this crucial matter. Stay safe and be well.

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