Thirty thousand Connecticut residents have been cut off from food assistance since last fall. Grocery inflation just hit a three-year high. Veterans, young adults aging out of foster care, parents, and immigrants are going hungry — forced to choose between food, medication, and rent.

And Connecticut's governor is saying "we'll see."

Governor Ned Lamont is sitting on a projected $1.6 billion surplus and a $380 million emergency fund created specifically to offset federal cuts to human service programs. Only he can propose tapping those funds. To date, he has not.

Replacing food benefits for the 30,000 Connecticut residents pushed off SNAP would cost less than $50 million per year — roughly 3% of this year's surplus. State senators have offered a compromise: distribute grocery store gift cards through community nonprofits immediately while a longer-term solution is built. That would cost even less.

Food banks and pantries are overwhelmed. They were never designed to replace a federal nutrition program. Connecticut Foodshare — which supplies most of the state's food pantries — has said the nonprofit network can cover only a fraction of the need.

Connecticut has the money. Connecticut has the plan. The only thing missing is the governor's willingness to act.

We're calling on Governor Lamont to immediately tap Connecticut's emergency fund and provide food assistance to the 30,000 residents cut from SNAP before the hunger crisis gets any worse.

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