Pallone & Nutrition Advocates Blast Trump Cuts to SNAP

Neptune, NJ — Today at Fulfill (the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean County), Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), state and local officials and nutrition advocates voiced their opposition to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Republican Farm Bill. While Pallone and House Democrats helped defeat H.R. 2, The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (The Farm Bill) in last week's vote, House Republicans vowed to bring similar legislation to the House floor in the near future.

Video from the event can be found here.

"Unfortunately, hunger is a reality in the state – as it is all across the country. 340,000 New Jersey children face hunger each year. The New Jersey SNAP program helps these children and their families afford food and groceries every day, ensuring that fewer of our friends and neighbors go to bed hungry," said Pallone. "We cannot allow President Trump and Congressional Republicans to gut the SNAP program months after passing a massive tax cut designed to help the wealthy and large corporations. I was proud to help defeat the GOP's reckless farm bill on Friday and with the support and voices of the advocates here today and my constituents we can continue to fight these devastating cuts.

H.R. 2 would have cut $23 billion in SNAP benefits to pay for the GOP Tax Scam's massive handouts to corporations and the top one percent. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the government will essentially save no money over the next ten years under the GOP farm bill, but two million Americans would see their benefits lowered or disappear completely.

SNAP reaches 439,216 households in NJ with 877,296 individuals receiving benefits in an average month. As a result of the GOP bill, more than 400,000 households will lose benefits nationally while 265,000 children will lose access to free school meals.

Congressman Pallone was joined by Elisa Neira, Deputy Commissioner of the NJ Department of Human Services; Adele H. LaTourette, Director, New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition; Barbara Scholz, Advocacy and Program Director for Fulfill; Dave Offenberg, Fulfill Board Chair

Amy Jolin, Fulfill Interim Executive Director.

"Under this proposal, working parents and their children and people struggling to find jobs would be particularly hard hit,'' said Adele LaTourette, director, New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition. "At least 35,000 residents would completely lose benefits, while thousands of others would be hurt by punitive work rules. Making people go hungry is no way to help them find jobs.''

"We're grateful to our Congressional delegation, with all but one – Rep. Tom MacArthur – voting against the House Farm Bill,'' LaTourette said. "We urge our representatives to continue to oppose this harmful proposal and call on New Jersey residents to thank members for their continued support of programs that address hunger.''

"Food banks want to see a strong Farm Bill that protects the hungry, but this bill would only make it harder for children, seniors and families to access food assistance when they need it most. 70% of SNAP recipients are in families with children and 30% are in households with seniors and people with disabilities," said Barbara Scholz, Advocacy and Program Director for Fulfill. "We oppose any Farm Bill cuts to SNAP and we urge you to oppose the bill as well. Charities like Fulfill simply cannot make up for the lost SNAP meals."

Fulfill, formerly the FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties, works to alleviate hunger and build food security in Monmouth & Ocean Counties and to make sure that all people at all times have access to enough nutritious food to maintain an active and healthy life. Every day, 1 in 10 of our neighbors does not have enough to eat. This includes over 21,000 children in Monmouth and 25,000 children in Ocean.