As Congress moves to pass a Farm Bill this session, a vital program is under attack. Current proposals would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, a program that provides those living with food insecurity with the means to acquire healthy, sustaining meals.
If this legislation is enacted as is, more families will find it difficult to make ends meet and our already struggling economy will take another hit. We must tell Congress to act now to prevent these cuts.
This is the situation today: Throughout the country, millions of Americans rely on SNAP to survive. The vast majority of these recipients, over 83%, are the most vulnerable in our society – children, seniors and the disabled. In our city alone, 1.8 million New Yorkers depend on SNAP to put food on the table.
The version of the Farm Bill that passed earlier this week in the U.S. Senate would require cuts to SNAP totaling $4.1 billion over the next 10 years, or as much as $130 per household, each month.
The House of Representatives will consider a bill later this month that is proposing an even more severe alternative, slashing SNAP by more than $20 billion over the same period. To paint the picture of just how large an impact this will have on New York City, if the entire population of Staten Island went nine months without eating, it would still fall short of the meals lost under the proposed House bill.
These proposed cuts are unacceptable and do not represent New York values. Our seniors and children must not be left without food and nutrition.
Every day, I hear from concerned citizens about the devastating impact the cuts to SNAP will have on our citizens and our already-strained emergency food services.
Currently, the city’s Emergency Food Assistance Program coordinates food distribution at 500 soup kitchens and food pantries, and more than 1.4 million New Yorkers rely on it.
These emergency services are an essential safety net to SNAP members, 80% of whom deplete their food assistance within the first three weeks of the month. If the Farm Bill makes its proposed cuts, these already over-extended emergency programs will be put under an unbearable strain.
In addition to their devastating humnan impact, these cuts will have a measurable economic effect. According to a policy brief prepared by the Food Bank for New York City, city food retailers stand to lose as much as $15 million each month if these cuts are enacted.
Leaving these programs untouched will help our economy get back on track: every dollar spent on SNAP returns about $1.73 to the economy. This is the most effective form of stimulus spending, and it is about to be cut dramatically.
As chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee, it is my duty to work with Speaker Christine Quinn, my colleagues and the mayor to negotiate a fair and responsible budget for New York City.
Unfortunately, it is beyond our purview to ensure that this Farm Bill does not cut this essential program, so we need the public’s help to keep the pressure on.
Our representatives in Congress must recognize and address the injustice and short-sightedness of these actions. Please join me in calling for the restoration of these desperately needed funds.
City Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr. represents the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Coney Island, Gravesend, Brighton Beach and Bensonhurst, and he is chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee.
