Media Contact:
Jordan Baker
jbaker@frac.org
202-640-1118
Statement attributable to Luis Guardia, President, Food Research & Action Center
WASHINGTON, November 7, 2020 – On behalf of the Food Research & Action Center, I congratulate Joe Biden on being elected America’s 46th president.
President-Elect Biden and the new administration will confront many challenges as the long-term public health and economic fallout of COVID-19 continues to unfold. Even prior to the pandemic, millions of people in every corner of the country struggled to put food on the table. And COVID-19 has only deepened our nation’s hunger crisis.
Food insecurity is driven by poverty, joblessness, low wages, insufficient support for people with disabilities, inadequate public income programs, structural racism, lack of affordable housing, and other factors. America can’t move forward without addressing hunger and its root causes.
The good news is there is a clear path for eliminating hunger in this country and for creating a healthier, more prosperous, and more equitable society where all people and communities are able to thrive.
As stated on Biden’s campaign website, “hunger today isn’t about scarcity- it’s about a massive failure in leadership. This moment demands an effective leader who can implement bold solutions…”
FRAC is encouraged that President-Elect Biden has echoed the call of anti-hunger advocates in urging the current administration to boost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and we hope he will follow through by bolstering SNAP under his leadership. We also urge Congress and the new administration to make strong child nutrition programs even stronger so our nation’s children have access to the food they need for their health, learning, and development.
FRAC looks forward to working with the Biden administration and Congress to address the root causes of hunger and protect and strengthen the proven, cost-effective federal nutrition programs. This would include repealing any harmful proposals that would cause further spikes in hunger.
In addition, we must address the root causes of hunger by creating jobs with better wages, improving and expanding refundable tax credits for low-income families, and supporting affordable housing.
In the meantime, we urge the current Congress to take immediate action to support the growing number of struggling households. With every day that Congress fails to take action on a comprehensive relief package, more and more children, adults, and families miss out on the nutrition they need for their health and well-being. Hungry people can’t wait any longer.
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For 50 years, the Food Research & Action Center has been the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.
