FRAC Chat

FRAC On the Move is a series that follows FRAC’s policy and program experts as they connect with advocates across the country to explore strategies and develop solutions to end hunger. In this installment, Alex Ashbrook, FRAC’s director of special projects and initiatives, talks about participating on a panel at the 2019 UnidosUS Annual Conference, SNAP At Risk: How We Can Keep Our Kids and Families Healthy. Alex was joined by Sue Vega, the senior programs manager for Alivio Medical Center’s Get Covered Illinois programs, and Cynthia Kaser, the chief community programs development officer for La Maestra Community Health Centers. The conference, held in San Diego, California, convened thousands of attendees interested in social change, particularly for the Latinx community.

Congress is on recess until September 9. During recess, advocates should engage with their Members of Congress to advocate for stronger child nutrition programs and work to protect and strengthen SNAP. This roundup describes legislative and administrative actions currently in play on Capitol Hill, and is intended to provide the latest information for in-district meetings and site visits with Members of Congress.

As Labor Day approaches, some leading economists are warning that our nation’s economy could fall into another recession in the coming year. At the same time, the Trump administration is proposing rule changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would undercut the program’s effectiveness in supporting low-income families working their way up the economic ladder and the program’s countercyclical impact.

Across the U.S., more than 40 million Americans live in households that struggle against hunger, with poverty and racial inequities often being root causes. FRAC recently spoke with Dr. Kofi Essel, Community Pediatrician, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and Health Equity & Hunger Champion at Children’s National Health System and the George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., about the importance of looking at and addressing hunger through a racial and economic lens.

So, we should be doing more for our kids, not less. That’s why the Trump administration’s most recent effort to change the rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is wrong and cruel. It would gut broad-based categorical eligibility, which would take basic food assistance away from working families, seniors, and people with disabilities, and make it harder for struggling people to feed their families. That also would jeopardize 500,000 kids’ access to their free breakfast and lunch at school. In other words, President Trump is literally advocating that we take food out of the mouths of our children.