MAZON leads groups in call on farm bill to address military hunger (Fence Post)
This article was originally posted on The Fence Post on August 14, 2024.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger last week sent a letter signed by 49 national organizations to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees urging Congress to ensure that the next farm bill removes barriers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for currently serving military families.
The letter was spearheaded by MAZON, along with the National Military Family Association and Military Officers Association of America, and it is signed by a broad coalition of military and veteran service organizations, faith-based organizations, and anti-hunger advocacy organizations, MAZON noted.
MAZON and its partners noted they have advocated for the farm bill to remove a servicemember’s Basic Allowance for Housing from income eligibility calculations for SNAP, which is authorized by the farm bill.
This provision was included the farm bill framework presented by Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., which echoes the bipartisan and bicameral Military Family Nutrition Access Act (H.R. 1763/S. 497), MAZON said.
“The status quo is simply unacceptable,” said Abby Leibman, MAZON’s President and CEO.
“For far too long, our brave and dedicated military service members have protected our country without being able to reliably put food on the table. Hunger in the military is a national embarrassment that is not only morally reprehensible, but also impairs our military readiness, recruitment, and retention.
“Through the farm bill, we have an important, long overdue opportunity to confront this crisis by removing a needless bureaucratic barrier. In one voice, our remarkable coalition of national advocates urges Congress to act now and help end hunger among America’s military families,” Leibman said.
“All military families should feel secure in knowing they’ll have enough to eat,” said Besa Pinchotti, CEO of the National Military Family Association.”
But these families — who serve and sacrifice so much — face higher rates of insecurity than their civilian neighbors,” Pinchotti said.”Expanding military families’ access to SNAP is the right thing to do. It’s the right thing for our families and for our country, which relies on a healthy and ready fighting force.”