FRAC Chat

A key strength of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is its structure as an entitlement program that utilizes regular channels of commerce through public and private partnerships. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, authorizes food retailers to accept SNAP benefits. SNAP customers then redeem those benefits by using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) debit cards at authorized stores. This makes SNAP a cost-effective means for government to get food assistance to needy people. It also means that SNAP customers can shop where and how other customers shop for their groceries. And it means SNAP can respond quickly to increased need, whether due to economic downturns or natural disasters.

This Facebook Live took place on August 2. Below are excerpts of Rep. McGovern’s remarks. The full recording may be viewed here.

Thousands of school nutrition staff from across the country arrived in Las Vegas the second week of July for the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference. We were thrilled to have a FRAC booth there that allowed us to connect with many of the attendees who poured into the exhibit hall for endless food samples, equipment demos, plenty of “swag,” and good information on operating the school nutrition programs. The attendees also spent a lot of time in education sessions. Two of them were led by FRAC staff.

“Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

FRAC’s recent report on food hardship found that households with children answered “yes” to that question at a much higher rate than households without children, 18.4 percent compared to 14.1 percent. Given our nation’s high child poverty rates, this is not a surprise. The data alone, however, only begin to capture how much harm America is causing its children because of the poverty and hunger rates they suffer.

It’s going to get a whole lot easier to feed New Jersey kids, thanks to a package of bills passed this spring by our state legislature. The new school breakfast laws will affect an estimated 500 schools educating nearly 308,000 students. Together, the bills have the potential to feed tens of thousands more children through the federal school breakfast and summer meals programs, while bringing millions more in federal reimbursements back to New Jersey.