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Jordan Baker
jbaker@frac.org
202-640-1118

Statement attributable to Luis Guardia, President, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)

WASHINGTON, December 20, 2022 — The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) opposes proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the 2023 Omnibus spending bill.

Under current law, SNAP Emergency Allotments (EAs) are allowed for the duration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration. Premature cuts to SNAP EAs would hasten the hunger cliff for millions of people with low incomes as soon as March 2023. SNAP recipients of all ages will lose benefits, but the steepest cliff will be for older adults at the minimum benefit level who will have their monthly SNAP benefits fall from $281 to $23.

Congress has the opportunity to expand Summer EBT and strengthen child nutrition in the Omnibus. FRAC has urged Congress to build upon the work of the House Education and Labor Committee, led by Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), and include key provisions of the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act in the Omnibus. These key provisions also include adding the option of an additional meal or snack for children in full day care through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), expanding community eligibility, and streamlining summer food to allow summer food providers to serve children year-round.

Since the piloting of Summer EBT, FRAC has been at the forefront of efforts to make it a permanent nationwide program, which would provide relief to millions of children and their families at a time when hunger spikes and the need is great.

Much-needed investments in child nutrition should not be made by reducing SNAP benefits or other offsets that would hurt families with low incomes.

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The Food Research & Action Center improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram