Statement Attributed to Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Chief Executive Officer
Feeding America is calling on the United States Congress to approve a strong, bipartisan 2024 Agriculture Appropriations package to protect access and funding to critically important nutrition programs. Feeding America applauds the work Congress has undertaken, in a shared conviction that no one should go hungry in this country, towards a bill that provides food assistance to people in every community.
The increase in funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to $7 billion means the program will be able to provide vital nutrition support to 7 million eligible adults and young children. Congress also fully funded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) food purchases, and funding for nourishing food for older adults through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).
We are grateful Congress supported people’s ability to choose the food their families need by preserving the current level of choice built into SNAP. This continued flexibility enables individuals and families to navigate their unique, challenging situations with dignity and independence.
In communities across the country, people are experiencing food insecurity at higher rates, a reality that our network sees regularly through increased and sustained demand on food banks throughout the nation. It is as important as ever before to ensure food banks can meet the demand, and one way to do that is through TEFAP, which moves food from farms to food banks to people facing hunger. While we are encouraged Congress continues to invest in this foundational program, we are disappointed to see that funding to help food banks distribute TEFAP food was reduced in the final bill to $80 million, an over 13% cut from the $92 million provided in FY2023. This will add to the strain and pressure placed on food banks and on the tens of millions of people who support and are supported by food banks across the country.
With this important package complete, we now encourage Congress to use this momentum to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill that fortifies and protects federal nutrition programs while supporting food banks and the people they serve.
As 176 Feeding America network members from 43 states and Puerto Rico are meeting with members of Congress this week in Washington, DC, we are optimistic. When we work together with a common goal, we can make significant progress toward ensuring all people in our country have nutritious food they need and ending hunger in America.
Contact
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About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on X.com.