SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is one of the main government organizations that work to combat food insecurity by providing money for people to buy groceries. Whilst SNAP is currently receiving more support (eg. Families First Coronavirus Response Act), there are still two issues we would like to address.
First, in the Status Quo, most college students are rendered ineligible to apply for the SNAP program due to its restrictions. This is problematic, as 39% of College Students reported being food insecure in the past 30 days yet still cannot apply for SNAP benefits (Panetta). How can we help? California congressmen recently introduced the Emergency Ensuring Access to SNAP (EATS) Act, which wavies college students' previous ineligibility to the program. However, this may not get passed due to political partisanship. Sign this petition to ensure the Emergency EATS Act gets passed.
Second, SNAP is at risk of receiving a 30% budget cut due to Trump's 2021 budget recommendations (CBPP). This is also problematic, as the economic effects of COVID-19 will last beyond 2021 and food insecurity will remain amongst many families. Reducing the budget for many families' lifeline during a pandemic is immoral and poses potentially detrimental outcomes. Sign this petition to ensure SNAP doesn't receive future budget cuts.
With many people now experiencing food insecurity after the spread of the coronavirus, we need to ensure that access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is equal amongst everyone in the United States. We also need to ensure that its ability to help our families is not compromised through budget cuts.