The nutrition-only farm bill being considered in the House of
Representatives would cut $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), leading to billions of lost meals for
low-income people. As a result, 850,000 households would lose an average
$90 per month in SNAP benefits, 4 to 6 million individuals would lose
their SNAP benefits entirely, and 210,000 children would lose free
school meals.
These cuts would come on top of SNAP benefit reductions that will
impact all SNAP participants starting in November 2013. Congress voted
in 2010 to rescind early a temporary SNAP benefit boost provided by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The SNAP ARRA cut will
cause a family of four to lose $36 per month from their maximum benefits
starting in November, a loss of $432 over the course of the year.
Together, the SNAP meals lost in 2014 from the scheduled ARRA
cuts and the proposed farm bill cuts (nearly 3.4 billion meals) would
exceed the projected annual meal distribution by Feeding America food
banks around the country (3.3 billion meals). Following a 46 percent
increase in demand during the recession, food banks are already
struggling to meet need in their communities and will be unable to make
up the difference. Charity can’t make up for lost SNAP meals. Congress
must protect SNAP in the farm bill.
Analysis by Feeding America 1.The $40 billion SNAP cut in the House nutrition-only farm bill divided evenly over 10 years would equal $4 billion in lost SNAP benefits in FY14. Lost meals calculated using average cost of a meal ($2.67) from Feeding America's annual Map the Meal Gap report. 2. The value of SNAP benefits lost due to the ARRA cut is $5 billion in FY14. Lost meals calculated using average cost of a meal ($2.67) from Feeding America's annual Map the Meal Gap report. 3. Feeding America's internal meal projections for Feeding America Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014).
SOURCE: FEEDING AMERICA
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