MAZON Statements

As landmark federal COVID-19 relief legislation heads to President Biden’s desk, leading anti-hunger policy experts are praising the package, which strengthens federal nutrition assistance programs to confront America’s hunger crisis. In a statement, Abby J. Leibman, MAZON’s President and CEO celebrated the boost for nutrition funding and anti-poverty measures, also calling on leaders to continue this momentum to develop durable solutions to food insecurity:

“Today’s passage of the American Rescue Plan is a historic step to addressing the needs of people experiencing hunger and poverty across the country. This federal relief reestablishes the role that the government should play in people’s lives: securing fundamental stability for families so that they can dream and plan for the future instead of solely focusing on where their next meal is coming from.

“The increases to federal assistance programs like SNAP (formerly food stamps), WIC, and P-EBT are profoundly encouraging steps to address the hunger crisis that existed long before and has been exacerbated by this pandemic. At MAZON, we know that we can end hunger in this country — it just takes political will. Our Jewish values teach us to pursue justice for all those facing hunger in this country, particularly those with unique and persistent challenges like military families, single mothers, Native Americans, veterans, LGBTQ seniors, and Americans in Puerto Rico.

“It has been an encouraging change to see the Biden administration centering policies to address hunger in its COVID-relief and recovery plans. But while we celebrate today’s bill passage, we know there is still much work ahead. America’s hunger crisis predates this pandemic, and our broken systems will linger after many have declared the virus defeated. We must use this momentum to create real structural changes to our food system and our economy, together fighting for a future where no one goes hungry in this land of plenty.”