Your support is urgently needed! Please reach out to your Congressional representatives and ask them to support the Farm Bill’s food assistance programs. Proposed spending cuts will impact over 46.2 million of our nation’s less fortunate that rely on federal food assistance. Public hearings commence tomorrow. Now is the time to act.
Farm Bill Background
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering reducing the Farm Bill by $23 billion and the U.S. Senate cuts are estimated at $33 billion.
The Capital Area Food Bank’s Public Policy and Community Outreach Department works to ensure that our Congressional representatives support the our nation’s nutrition safety net.
Those of us who work in the area of hunger-relief are very concerned that two important programs in the Farm Bill are in jeopardy of being cut – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamp benefits; and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). SNAP is facing $4.2 billion in funding cuts. Other programs in the Farm Bill that ensure that food is available for children, senior citizens and the disabled are also in danger of being reduced or cut altogether.
How You Can Help
Locate and contact your state’s U.S. Senators and House representative. Ask to speak to the person on staff who works on the Farm Bill. Feel free to use the script we prepared below:
Also, invite the member, or his/her staff member to volunteer at your organization and meet the people that you serve.
Finally, email the Capital Area Food Bank at advocacy@CapitalAreaFoodBank.org to let us know you made contact with one of your Congressional representatives or staff members and let us know what response you received.
Brian,
I atttended the Summit on Hunger at Catholic University. When I got home I reproduced 100 copies of the letter and passed them out at our foodpantry and made 50 more copies for Baden Foodpantry for Richard Neiser. At exercise class today, Richard told me that so many of our people had called in that on CNN this morning that Congress was going to pass the Farm Bill with NO cuts. I hope Richard is right. I will zerox more copies of the letter you handed out and pass them out at St. Charles Town Mall this week. We also went to the Bowling Alley in Waldorf and gave the assistant manager copies to give to patrons. Hope this helps. Agape Bruce
Bruce,
Thank you for taking time to read the blog, and for the GREAT work you are doing in the community. I would like to applaud you for helping get the word out about the importance of the Farm Bill. You are a true community hero. Thank you and please keep plugging away the Farm Bill is not final just yet, and cuts to TEFAP, SNAP, and other programs vital to the well being of 46 million Americans are at risk of being cut. Thanks again!