Opened for comments...again
Opened for comments...again
Proposed Changes to the Free Lunch and Food Assistance Program (SNAP) Reopened for Comments
Proposed Changes to the Free Lunch and Food Assistance Program (SNAP) Reopened for Comments
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You'll never believe what happened...
You'll never believe what happened...
On Thursday, October 3, for the third time this year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced another change to SNAP that would cut food benefits by a total of $4.5 billion.
Children who live in households that receive SNAP benefits are directly certified (automatically eligible) to receive free school breakfast and lunch. While the initial estimate showed that the rule could jeopardize more than 500,000 children’s access to free school meals, the new USDA analysis states that as many as 982,000 children could be impacted, with 497,000 children moving from free to reduced-price meals, and 40,000 completely losing eligibility for both free and reduced-price school meals.
If this rule is enacted, children will be hungry at home and school. Since childhood hunger is linked to academic struggles, difficulties focusing and concentrating, mental health disorders, and increased behavioral referrals, many schools would struggle to meet the educational, health, and mental health needs of the students who lose SNAP benefits and as a result, access to free school meals. If adopted, the rule would eliminate SNAP benefits for 3.1 million people, and a newly released USDA analysis found that it would jeopardize nearly one million children’s access to free school breakfast and lunch (Food Research & Action Center, 2019).
Please take a minute to copy and paste the paragraph above from the Food Research and Action Center, and submit a comment to your representative here. Additional personal stories are welcome and encouraged!
For additional information on SNAP, you can read more from us here!
We would also like to thank the Food Research & Action Center for the information and ease of accessibility!
Reference
Food Research & Action Center. (2019). Proposed changes to SNAP could leave nearly 1 million children without access to free school meals. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.frac.org/news/proposed-changes-to-snap-could-leave-one-million-children-without-access-to-free-school-meals
Food Research & Action Center. (2019). Proposed changes to SNAP could leave nearly 1 million children without access to free school meals. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.frac.org/news/proposed-changes-to-snap-could-leave-one-million-children-without-access-to-free-school-meals
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