In every part of the nation, a large number of households are experiencing food hardship — the inability to afford enough food for themselves and their families. “How Hungry is America?” reveals that, after several years of decline, the national food hardship rate for all households increased from 15.1 percent in 2016 to 15.7 percent in 2017.
FRAC commends the Senate for passing a Farm Bill that keeps food in the refrigerators and on the tables of struggling individuals and families by protecting SNAP benefit levels and eligibility.
The passage of the House Farm Bill, H.R. 2, betrays the historic bipartisan commitment to making sure people who are struggling have enough to eat. The bill will take food out of the refrigerators and off the tables of millions of people in need, leading to greater hunger and poverty.
FRAC’s new report, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report, finds that only 3 million children received a nutritious summer lunch on an average weekday in July 2017 through the Summer Nutrition Programs compared to the 20 million children who participated in free and reduced-price school lunch during the 2016–2017 school year. The report ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs.
FRAC applauds the Senate Agriculture Committee leadership for their proposed Farm Bill, which takes a vastly different approach from the House Farm Bill. The proposed bill moves forward on a range of issues, including reduced paperwork for households with seniors and people with disabilities; and work pilots and job training efforts.
