Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
With the nation’s food safety net for millions of Americans about to come to a halt on Saturday, Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday joined roughly two dozen other Democratic-led states suing the Trump administration to demand emergency funding for critical food assistance for vulnerable families. The legal action was filed in the District Court of Massachusetts by Shapiro and 25 other states and the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The suit demands that billions available in federal contingency funding be released to help sustain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians receive SNAP, which was formerly known as food stamps. Unless Congress takes action, no SNAP payments will be distributed on Saturday. The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, another supplemental food program for mothers and children, will run out of funding after Nov. 9. The program benefits 100,000 children and 41,000 infants in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit charges the Trump administration unlawfully suspended SNAP, and argues that existing alternative funds, which have been appropriated by Congress, must be used to pay for the program. “For the first time since the program began in 1964, SNAP payments have been halted across the country because the Trump Administration has decided to use critical food assistance as a political bargaining chip,” Shapiro said. “That is unacceptable, especially when the USDA has billions of dollars in Congressionally-appropriated contingency funding on hand to fund SNAP and ensure millions of people don’t go hungry. Republicans in Washington need to come to the table and reopen the federal government — but in the meantime, I’m taking legal action to demand that the Trump Administration continue SNAP payments that nearly two million Pennsylvanians rely on to feed themselves and their families.” Last year, approximately 714,000 children and 697,000 seniors relied on monthly SNAP payments of $187 in Pennsylvania. The Trump administration has indicated it will not release the estimated $5.5 billion in USDA contingency funds for SNAP because the funds are earmarked for natural disasters. Also on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Senate Democrats amplified calls to address the looming food emergency for millions of people. At a press event, surrounded by other lawmakers and several anti-hunger advocates, Sen. Art Haywood, D-Philadelphia, pushed a bill that would dedicate investment interest from the commonwealth’s “rainy day” reserve fund to assist food banks during the shutdown. “This is an emergency,” he said, noting that Nov. 1 also marks the start of new SNAP requirements for eligibility. Individuals ages 18 to 64 who are not disabled will be required to work 80 hours to qualify. “I’m here with my colleagues because we know that these changes are going to make people hungry,” Haywood said. “Disabled hungry veterans, hungry children...It’s hard to be in a more outrageous position than to be holding up the food for our neighbors.” Along with other Democratic lawmakers, Haywood introduced the Pennsylvania Food and Hunger Relief Grant Program, which would allocate $50 million from the rainy day fund and direct it to the state Department of Agriculture to assist food banks. Haywood also proposed an additional $10 million for Meals on Wheels, as well as $2 million to cover the administrative costs during an emergency. He said the program would benefit at least 18 food banks. Unless Congress comes to a resolution on the government shutdown or releases emergency funding for SNAP, an estimated 42 million Americans will lose their monthly food assistance. The monthly food assistance for families, seniors and disabled veterans range from $187 for an individual to about $332 per household, according to federal data. The crisis is compounded by earlier federal funding cuts earlier this year which meant tens of millions less for food banks. “Despite the data lately, there seems to be a reluctance to acknowledge the reality of hunger in our commonwealth,” said Julie Bancroft, the CEO of Feeding Pennsylvania, which steers a network of nine food banks in the state. “Hunger in Pennsylvania has risen 44% over two years. One in six children in Pennsylvania go hungry. And our food banks distribute more than 237 million pounds of food each year. Yet it still isn’t enough to meet the need. Food banks are remarkably resilient and efficient. They are built to handle such moments. However, we are facing a perfect storm.” Earlier this year, the network was hit with a $13-million federal funding cut for partnerships between local agriculture and the charitable food network. Some $6 million in federal emergency food orders were canceled, she noted. Tens of millions more were cut for state food purchases from agricultural surplus. Federal workers, who are not being paid during the government shutdown, have begun turning to the charitable food system, Bancroft said. She noted that for every meal provided by a food bank, SNAP provides nine more. “We’ve let politics cloud our humanity outside of this building,” she said. “Real people are managing very real concerns about their own survival.” Shila Ulrich, CEO of Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, noted that the current state budget impasse has increased the challenge to the charitable food network to meet the needs of hungry families. Ulrich shared her experience with a growing number of families who are turning to food banks as they face empty cupboards. “It was a story that I heard not once or twice, but dozens and dozens of times where a mom or a dad would come in and would sit across from me to register for food and say, ‘I’m so sorry I’m here today. But I looked at my pantry and I have a pack of ramen and I know that’s not enough to feed my kids tonight,’” Ulrich said. United Way of the Capital Region president and CEO Tim Fatzinger said the state and federal budget crises are putting many families’ at risk of dealing with both hunger and cold. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will not be available until at least December 3, contingent on federal funds being available, Fatzinger noted. Applications will not be accepted until the season opens.
