After the United States Senate passed a plan that will reduce the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by an estimated 186 billion dollars, the East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) issued a statement. In the statement, they addressed their concerns.
For the past half-century, the Supplemental Nutrition aid Program (SNAP) has been a source of food aid for the American people in times of crisis, economic depression, and natural disaster. The law will result in the broadest reduction of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the history of the United States. It will do this by moving billions of dollars’ worth of expenditures to the states, including Texas.
David Emerson, the chief executive officer of ETFB, made a statement in which he emphasised the detrimental effects that the reduction of SNAP payments will have on families in East Texas and encouraged lawmakers to take immediate action to save the program.
SNAP cuts will put even more families in a precarious situation, particularly in rural areas such as East Texas, where the program serves as an essential means of subsistence. “These cuts will have immediate and devastating consequences, including more children going hungry, more refrigerators that are empty, and more choices that are impossible to make between food, medicine, and rent,” Emerson added. Local economies will be severely impacted by the ripple effects, which will impede recovery and make poverty worse. We encourage politicians to take immediate action and safeguard and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) before more lives are put in jeopardy.
Additionally, Celia Cole, the Chief Executive Officer of Feeding Texas, issued a statement regarding the adverse effects that the cutting of SNAP will have on the people of the United States.
There would be significant and catastrophic repercussions as a result. It is possible that millions of people in the United States, including children, senior citizens, veterans, and families with working members, may go hungry, according to Cole. “The bill not only causes significant and unwarranted harm to vulnerable Americans, but it also takes a hit to our state and local economies, as well as to farmers and grocery stores,”
As stated in a news release issued by ETFB, the portion of the administrative expenditures for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that Texas is responsible for would grow by $716 million annually by the fiscal year 2028. This would force politicians in the state of Texas to either collect additional funds, redirect monies to cover those costs, or reduce the amount of SNAP benefits that Texans receive.
According to Cole, “SNAP is a lifeline for millions of Texans, especially during times of crisis.” this statement was made. This program is successful because it is supported by the federal government and it is able to adapt to changes in the economy. It would be detrimental to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) ability to respond to economic downturns and natural catastrophes, precisely when families are in the most need of assistance and state budgets are at their lowest point.
Currently, the ETFB provides services to 26 counties, having been created in 1988. This charitable organization is a member of the Feeding Texas network, which is made of twenty food banks and more than three thousand local partners. Each year, it serves around thirty-one million meals to residents of East Texas.
