Rep. Emilia Sykes expresses SNAP funding concerns
CLEVELAND — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding will expire on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown.
This means more than one million Ohioans and 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP for food assistance will face food insecurity in the coming weeks.
“These are parents working two jobs, seniors on fixed incomes and children who should never have to worry where their next meal comes from,” Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-13th Congressional District, said.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal agency responsible for administering SNAP. On Tuesday, the USDA website displayed the following notice:
“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for health care for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
Sykes said Republicans haven’t been willing to negotiate, describing the Capitol as a ‘ghost-town.’
“In the last government shutdown, SNAP was not impacted,” Sykes said. “There are contingency funds for a reason. I like to say there are no coincidences in Congress. The reason why we are here is on purpose. And it’s not fair. It’s mean. And it’s cruel to use food as a political mechanism. It’s unacceptable.”
As SNAP benefits are set to expire, the prices of groceries continue to rise. Since 2020, grocery prices have been up nearly 30% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Colleen Benson, the Chief Development Officer at the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank, said need is high and resources are already stretched thin.
“The question is how long can we continue to stretch?” Benson said.
Some local governments are taking action to help fill the looming needs gap. Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro and Summit County Council approved emergency legislation to grant $250,000 to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, as the SNAP funding crisis looms.
However, Benson said this is a short-term solution.
“If we think about this government shutdown continuing, would food banks have the resources to provide what the Snap program does? Not at all,” Benson said. “We would need at least nine times more of an infrastructure of resources, of donations, of food.”
By: Siobhan Harms
Source: Spectrum News 1