From the Coalition on Human Needs (http://www.chn.org):
During this terrible pandemic, we have seen an unprecedented surge in Americans going without food. In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, that is simply unacceptable.
President Biden’s Build Back Better human investment agenda will continue to make the critical investments that we started to make this past spring, which helped lower hunger.
These programs work—and we can’t turn back now!
CHN is working with a broad coalition of partners across the country to demand Congress act during this critical time of need to increase child nutrition assistance benefits. Can you take a moment and send a letter at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-hunger-and-nutrition-needs-are-a-top-priority to demand Congress go big and bold to pass the strongest version of the Build Back Better agenda to fight food insecurity throughout the U.S.?
Congress needs to hear from us so they don’t water down this historic investment agenda. Children in the U.S., regardless of their family’s income, must be able to eat. It is that simple.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a daunting series of challenges for our country: not only are people facing a national public health emergency, but millions of parents can’t afford to feed their families healthy meals. When children were at home, school districts worked hard to get food to them that they otherwise would have eaten at school. Children are mostly back in school now, and we have to make sure that school meals are free in low-income communities. And when children are at home again—in the summer—we need to help families afford the food their children need.
Overall, it is predicted that 1 in 6 children may experience food insecurity this year.1 As recently as this September, more than 11% of people living with children reported that they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the previous week.2
Although robust government intervention prevented overall food insecurity from worsening in the last year, not everyone fared the same. Among Black households, 21.7% experienced food insecurity in 2020, compared to 7.1% of White households. This is a gap of 14.6%, up from 11.2% in 2019, before the pandemic arrived. (“Food insecurity” is defined as being unable to afford adequate nutritious food at some point in the previous year.)
We have an opportunity to remedy this chronic gap of food insecurity, if we make our voices heard. Send a letter to demand Congress make increases to child nutrition assistance benefits permanent, as part of the Build Back Better investment agenda.
Several federal programs, including EITC, CTC and child nutrition programs, have historically held bipartisan support. People, regardless of political party, understand that helping families with children with direct-cash and nutrition support gets money into the economy most effectively.
The House Build Back Better legislation will allow more communities with families with low incomes to offer free school meals to all students. Students participating in Medicaid, SSI, or other low-income programs would automatically be made eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Summer food benefits would be extended nationwide. Children, after all, need nutritious food each day of the year.
These programs work. Before the first expanded Child Tax Credit payment was distributed in mid-July, the number of people living with children reporting that their household did not have enough to eat in the previous week was 10.7 million. After just two payments were distributed, that number fell to 8.9 million—a drop of nearly 2 million.
Let’s demand Congress boost funding to people and families. Send a letter to Congress now, and tell them this is our best chance in decades to substantially reduce the hunger crisis facing millions of U.S. families.
Thank you for all you do to demand accountability from our political leaders and to fight for the needs of the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
1 “The Impact of the Coronavirus on Food Insecurity in 2020 & 2021,” Feeding America, March 2021
2 “Household Pulse Survey, week 38,” Census Bureau, September 15-27, 2021
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