The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, makes up three-quarters of the spending allocated by the Farm Bill, an enormous piece of legislation renewed every five years and up for negotiation and renewal in 2023.
While Republicans see this largest spending category as one to whittle or reallocate, SNAP benefits embody the original goals of the Farm Bill and support many of our neighbors who need support in difficult situations.
“Most of the people on SNAP are working number one. If they aren’t working it’s because they have to take care of usually an older adult or disabled person, that’s about 30% of the families who have it, and 70% are families with children. These are our neighbors. They are literally our neighbors, whether we like to say it or not. We went to school with them, our kids go to school together, they are in activities with each other, we watch parades together, we go to church together, we work together, these are not folks we don’t know,” says Iowa Congresswoman, Cindy Axne.
Farm Bill negotiations are starting to ramp up, and the opportunity to maintain our humanity and support people in times of need is very much on the table.
