House Agriculture Committee Hearing Focuses on Food Insecurity
WASHINGTON, DC – Combating hunger was the topic of the latest House Agriculture Committee hearing on Thursday as the issue of food insecurity has been growing at an alarming rate over the past year, with the outbreak of coronavirus. “Fortunately, Congress has responded with critical COVID legislation like Families First, CARES, provisions in the Omnibus we passed in December and (the recently passed) American Rescue Plan” proclaimed Chairman David Scott (D-GA). “But where are we now?” Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollments are up, and food banks continue to be flooded with people who have never before had to seek help. Prior to the pandemic (February 2020), Scott explained, there were 36.8 million people on SNAP but just two months later (April 2020) SNAP rolls were up to 40 million people, increasing to nearly 43 million people by September (2020). The Congressional Budget Office recently released their Baseline Projections for the next 10 years for SNAP and predict the negative effects of the pandemic will continue through most of 2022, with an average total of 44 million people on SNAP next year, before it begins to decrease in 2023. “We need to be realistic about this and continue to work to shore up the people who are counting on us to help them through this crisis” Scott surmised, and “just like a hurricane, a tornado, a flood or an earthquake, we are dealing with a natural disaster that demands we come together for a real solution to hunger.”
(SOURCE: All Ag News)