Feeding America today issued the following statement attributable to CEO Diana Aviv
“Feeding America applauds Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham for introducing H.R. 4967, The Food Bank Assistance Act of 2016.
“H.R. 4967 would help food banks across the nation provide more food to more families by increasing the funding levels for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides nutritious American-grown food to low-income households in the U.S.
“TEFAP currently provides the Feeding America network of food banks with approximately 20 percent of the total food they distribute. Feeding America will provide more than 3.7 billion meals in 2016.
“Most of the food banks in the Feeding America network state that the need for emergency food assistance continues at record levels, despite reported improvements in the economy.
“Nearly forty-five million people are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Most SNAP households report that they exhaust all of their SNAP benefit with the first 21 days of any given month.
“At a time when food banks in many states across our nation are anticipating increases in the number of people seeking food assistance because at least 500,000 very poor Americans are losing their SNAP benefits, we again thank Congresswoman Lujan-Grisham for introducing this legislation. It will have an immediate, positive and long-term impact on our network of food banks by providing millions of additional meals to the 46 million Americans our network serves every year.”
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About Feeding America
Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment. We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.