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In this moment of great division, we urge Congress to come together and pass a fully funded farm bill that strengthens SNAP benefits and builds healthy, resilient communities for years to come.
Opinion Contributors:
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot and Angela F. Williams
So much of what we are exposed to can divide or even fracture us – divided our country is weaker. But there are fundamental beliefs we share as a nation that have such potential to unite and strengthen us.
COVID-19 and the unity our nation showed in ensuring that the 60 million people who turned to the charitable food system received life sustaining resources proved that hunger is one of those binding areas of opportunity.
As tens of millions of people, more than 53 million according to most recent estimates, continue to need help, we can and should – even must – decide that no one in this country will go hungry. In the United States, people in every ZIP code, people of all ages, of all races, ethnicities, abilities and beliefs face hunger.
1 in 10 households are food insecure
Fresh, nutritious food should not be a luxury. It is a requirement for human thriving, essential fuel for education, for work, for health and for hope. It is inextricably tied to our daily lives, entangled with our cultures and our families. It is the joy of a homemade birthday cake decorated by tiny hands, the comfort of a bowl of gumbo made with a generations-old recipe, the connection at a family potluck where familiar laughs are more beautiful than music. Food is love.
What does it say about America then, that 1 in 10 households here are food insecure?
We can solve this problem, and the time to do it is now.
The problem is not a lack of food. Nearly 120 billion pounds of wasted food rot in our nation’s landfills every year.
The problem is not a lack of empathy. More than $470 billion of charitable donations were recorded in 2020.
The problem isn’t abundance. Our farmers, growers and producers are world leaders in production, exporting more agricultural products than any other country.
The problem isn’t a lack of know-how. Our logistical infrastructure is more sophisticated today than ever before.
The problem is that we have not come together to prioritize access to fresh, nutritious food. We can solve this problem by igniting a nationwide movement at all levels, among communities, within adjacent sectors such as health care and transportation, and within government.
COVID emergency benefits are ending
Let’s start with government, because Congress has an opportunity of great consequence this year to pass a fully funded farm bill. The farm bill, passed every five years, funds critical agricultural and nutritional programs that support farmers and provide healthy, nutritious food to people facing incredibly challenging circumstances.
For every one meal provided by the Feeding America network, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides nine. SNAP, often called food stamps, also happens to be a good investment, injecting an estimated $1.50 into local economies for every dollar spent.
The situation is urgent. United Way Worldwide supports 211, a free helpline where people can obtain referrals to local community services. 211 requests for food support have increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic, and last year with 18 million requests for help, hunger was among the top three.
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Families across the United States are now confronting the expiration of pandemic-era emergency allotments, which increased SNAP benefits during the economic uncertainty of the past several years.
While many SNAP recipients are seniors, people with disabilities and children, most households receiving SNAP have one or more employed adults working hard to make ends meet. The loss of emergency benefits, coinciding with increased food prices, is forcing families to make impossible decisions, such as whether to pay rent or feed their children.
If Congress hears the voices of people facing hunger and supports the nation’s nutrition programs, organizations like ours can continue to do our part by providing emergency food and investing in sustainable solutions that address root causes of hunger.
Over the past few years, despite increased demand at food banks, the pandemic-era benefits coupled with the unprecedented generosity of donors allowed our organizations to invest in sustainable solutions grounded in equity that address root causes of hunger and build more resilient communities.
These solutions include culinary training programs, urban garden and training centers, Black-owned farm community supported agriculture programs, Native food sovereignty initiatives, food as medicine initiatives, and more – and these investments are transforming communities in lasting ways.
We write together now, because every day that we fail to come together as a nation is another day that a mom in your community goes hungry so she can feed her children. A grandfather chooses between his heart medicine and food. A first-generation college student is maxing out a credit card for groceries.
Nutrition is a necessity, not a luxury, and we can end hunger if we make it a nationwide priority and work together. When we look back, we hope we see this as a moment when we created a more perfect, equitable union, the moment when we, as a nation, agreed to no longer let our people go hungry.
In this moment of great division, we urge Congress to come together and pass a fully funded farm bill that strengthens SNAP benefits and builds healthy, resilient communities for years to come.
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is the chief executive officer of Feeding America. Angela F. Williams is the president and CEO of United Way Worldwide.
