MAZON Blog

It has been a long and hard-fought few months for anti-hunger and anti-poverty advocates. The dust has barely settled after the narrow, partisan, and deeply troubling passage of a reckless budget bill that guts our nation’s food assistance programs and turns its back on millions of Americans.

While this moment is painful and infuriating, it’s also a moment for clarity, purpose, and renewed action.

What Just Happened

A new budget and tax law – driven forward by President Trump and signed into law on July 4th – was just enacted with the clear intent of prioritizing the wealthiest Americans over our most vulnerable neighbors.

Under this law, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will become harder to access, benefit amounts will fail to keep pace with the cost of a healthy diet, and many beneficiaries will lose this vital resource entirely. For the first time ever, some states will have to shoulder part of the cost of SNAP benefits in addition to paying a larger share of administrative expenses. Harsher work reporting requirements will be imposed, and exemptions will be removed for veterans, former foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness. These provisions could cost states hundreds of millions of dollars and strip some or all of SNAP benefits from 22 million families. 

MAZON and our partners across the country fought hard to impact public opinion and ensure Members of Congress knew how damaging the proposal would be for their communities. We submitted sign-on letters from faith community leaders. We published opinion pieces. We met repeatedly with members of Congress and their staff. And we activated our networks to speak out and demand better.

It may feel like we’re in the long game. That’s because we are. But our efforts made a real impact. We brought critical attention to this bill. They tried to pass this quietly, hoping no one would notice. But we forced them into the light of day. Our advocacy brought new voices into the conversation, engaged communities that hadn’t been involved before, and made it clear that people are paying attention.

Every action matters. Every conversation helps shift the narrative. Every time you help someone write a postcard, every time you bring our signs to a rally, every time you show up, you are part of that shift.

Where Do We Go From Here?

If you’re reading this, you might be angry, and rightfully so. But are others in your community just as outraged? If not, this is the moment to help them get activated.

At every economic turning point in American history, during the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic, public opinion shifted before policy did. That’s what we’re working toward now. The dominant narrative today says that people who experience hunger and poverty have made poor financial choices and should live with the consequences. But we know that’s not true. No one deserves to be hungry, and our government has both the capacity and the responsibility to ensure people can keep food on the table.

MAZON has been in this fight for more than 40 years. We’re under no illusion that we’ll achieve all our goals in the next 40. But continuing this work is how we honor the words of our ancestors: “It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

So we’ll keep going. At this moment, while there’s still a chance to shape how this bill is implemented, we’ll press forward. And even once it’s behind us, we’ll keep working to undo its damage, to protect the vulnerable, and to build a better future.

What You Can Do

1. Join our national postcard campaign to tell the USDA: no one deserves to go hungry. 

As the new budget law slashes food assistance for millions, we’re making sure the voices of those who care about justice, compassion, and dignity are impossible to ignore. Learn more.

2. Come together as a Jewish community to make our voices heard.

Join us on August 5 for A Moral Response to an Immoral Budget: Jewish Day of Action. While Members of Congress are home for their August recess, we’ll thank those who stood with us during the recent budget fight, and express our deep disappointment to those who didn’t. Learn more.

3. Add your voice when it matters most.

Join MAZON’s Rapid Response Team to take quick, strategic action when critical moments arise. Defending the safety net is going to take persistence and vigilance. Whether it’s a dangerous bill moving through Congress or a key decision at the USDA, we’ll let you know when it’s time to speak up. It’s low-lift but high-impact, and you can expect 2-3 extra emails from us a month with concrete actions you can take to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors can keep food on their tables. Join our list.

When we say no one deserves to be hungry, we mean it. Together, we can make sure that message is too loud to ignore.

Thank you for being in this fight with us. We’re not giving up, and we hope you won’t either.