Anti-Hunger Advocates Slam USDA and White House for Ending Annual Food Security Reports
This weekend, the Trump administration announced that they will discontinue the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) annual Household Food Security reports, which have accurately measured and reported on hunger in America for nearly 30 years. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger released the following statement slamming the administration for intentionally concealing the impact of their policies on the growing food security crisis in this country.
MAZON President & CEO Abby J. Leibman stated:
“This evening marks the beginning of the High Holy Days, a time for the Jewish people to engage in deep and honest reflection on the year we have just completed and to commit to living up to our values in the year ahead. It is as distressing as it is unsurprising that leaders in the Trump administration are incapable of and uninterested in that sort of introspection. By cancelling what has historically been one of the most important and reliable metrics we have to measure the impact of hunger in this country, they are hiding the reality of America’s hunger crisis at the same time that they are worsening it with devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“Hunger is a systemic and pervasive issue in America, despite what the Trump administration wants us to believe. The data published in the annual Household Food Security Survey allows us to understand the breadth and depth of that hunger and to address this issue in a meaningful way. Shutting this survey down is a deeply irresponsible — albeit not surprising — decision by USDA. We fear that without it, this Administration will make wild and irresponsible claims about how many Americans are hungry and who they are, as a means to further limit SNAP.
“As we prepare to enter the High Holy Days, also known as the ‘Days of Awe,’ we at MAZON promise this: we will not turn our backs on the truth, nor back down from our mission, and we will not shy away from the work that must be done to end hunger in America. Just as we will blow the shofar tonight to call ourselves to introspection, so too will we continue to blow the shofar to call ourselves to action for the more than 47 million people living in hunger. Let this be our sacred promise this Rosh Hashanah, that we will never turn our backs on those in need.”