Dear Senator,
A new survey found among mothers with young children, nearly one-fifth say their children are not getting enough to eat, a rate three times as high as in 2008, during the worst of the Great Recession. This is deeply concerning.
In the next COVID-19 relief package, Congress must guarantee that anyone who needs nutrition assistance is able to access it and increase benefits to better serve struggling families in the following ways:
- A 15% boost to the maximum SNAP benefit nationwide. This should be tied to an economic indicator, not the duration of the pandemic.
- Raise the minimum benefit from $16/month to $30/month.
- Suspend all Trump administrative rules that limit access to SNAP and child nutrition programs in order to remove barriers to access for those in need.
Guaranteeing that struggling families are able to access SNAP quickly and have the extra money they need to make sure they can purchase food during this difficult time also boosts the economy. It’s a win-win! SNAP benefits are one of the fastest, most effective forms of economic stimulus because they get money into the economy very quickly. Approximately, 80 percent of SNAP benefits are redeemed within two weeks of receipt; 97 percent are spent within a month.
Please make sure our families have the nutrition they desperately need to keep our children healthy during this pandemic.
Sincerely,