MAZON Statements

Last week, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger sent a letter signed by 49 national organizations urging Members of Congress to ensure that the next Farm Bill removes barriers to SNAP 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. It appeals to the four top leaders responsible for shaping the Farm Bill — Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA), and Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA).

“The status quo is simply unacceptable,” said Abby J. Leibman, MAZON’s President & CEO. “For far too long, our brave and dedicated military servicemembers 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.”

Throughout Farm Bill negotiations, MAZON and its partners have forcefully advocated for the proposal to remove a servicemember’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from income eligibility calculations for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is authorized by the Farm Bill. This provision was included in Chairwoman Stabenow’s Farm Bill framework, which echoes the bipartisan and bicameral Military Family Nutrition Access Act (H.R. 1763/S. 497).

“All military families should feel secure in knowing they’ll have enough to eat. But these families — who serve and sacrifice so much — face higher rates of insecurity than their civilian neighbors,” said Besa Pinchotti, CEO of the National Military Family Association. “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.”

The letter highlights the staggering figure from the Department of Defense (DoD) that more than 25 percent of currently-serving military personnel face food insecurity, compared with about 10 percent of adult civilians. Furthermore, only 14 percent of food insecure military families report getting assistance from federal programs like SNAP or private charities like food pantries. Earlier this year, a bipartisan panel out of the House Armed Services Committee issued a report with recommendations for improving the lives of military families, highlighting food insecurity as one of five critical problems facing the military’s all-volunteer force. 

“Although DoD and Congress have worked to address food-related insecurities, there are still some military families in need,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, USAF (Ret.), President and CEO of the Military Officers Association of America. “Congress should work to expand SNAP eligibility to help ensure all military families have the food security they need and deserve.” 

Full text of the letter:

August 8, 2024

Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Boozman, and Ranking Member Scott,

We, the undersigned national organizations, urge you to take meaningful action to resolve food insecurity among military families in the next Farm Bill. Specifically, Congress must take urgent action to exclude a servicemember’s Basic Allowance for Housing as income in determining their eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure that all those in need can access this critical nutrition program.

SNAP serves over 40 million food insecure Americans every day. Among those seeking help to keep food on the table are military personnel. Already having sacrificed so much, too many are struggling to feed themselves and their families. Currently serving members of the Armed Forces — often junior enlisted (typically enlisted ranks E-1 through E-4) with dependents — have turned in desperation to emergency assistance for years, making ends meet with the help of the food pantries that operate on or near every military installation in the United States. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, using data from the U.S. Department of Defense, the prevalence of food insecurity is 2.5 times higher among the active-duty military population compared with a demographically and economically equivalent civilian population of adults. The study found that more than 25 percent of active-duty military personnel are food insecure, compared with only about 10 percent of adult civilians. Additionally, one in 10 active-duty servicemembers and their families skip meals or eat less because of financial stress.

Congress must acknowledge that the face of America’s military has changed. In recent decades, the demographic make-up of the military’s enlisted personnel has shifted from predominantly single, 18-year-old men to a much more diverse force. Today’s military is composed of individuals representing a wide array of gender, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, including much higher rates of individuals who are supporting families than previous cohorts of servicemembers. However, military compensation policy has not adequately kept pace with the changing demographics and needs of enlisted servicemembers, nor with the cost of living. Furthermore, military lifestyles impose unique costs and challenges, which are often exacerbated for junior-enlisted, low-ranking, and low-paid servicemembers with families.

Federal nutrition safety net programs like SNAP exist to help families like these, but tens of thousands of servicemembers are blocked from accessing them because of a flaw in the eligibility calculation that treats the military housing allowance as income.

For servicemembers who receive a housing allowance, that allowance is currently counted as income for the purpose of determining SNAP eligibility. This is a troubling inconsistency, as these stipends are not counted as taxable income by the IRS and for other federal aid programs. By making this simple change in the Farm Bill and excluding a servicemember’s housing allowance as income, you change the lives of low-income military families who have been erroneously priced-out of the program.

We are grateful to Chairwoman Stabenow for including a legislative solution in her Farm Bill proposal, mirroring the Military Family Nutrition Act (H.R. 1763/S. 497), and we urge you to ensure that this policy change is included in any final Farm Bill agreement. To strengthen our national defense, ensure that the basic needs of our troops are being met, and provide for the American people, we hope we can count on your support. 

Sincerely,

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Military Officers Association of America
National Military Family Association

Alliance to End Hunger
Blue Star Families
Bread for the World
Church World Service
Coalition on Human Needs
Cohen Veterans Network
Combined Arms
CommonDefense.us
Congressional Hunger Center
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF)
First Focus on Children
Food Research & Action Center
Franciscan Action Network
Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Jewish Federations of North America
Jewish Labor Committee
Jewish Women International
Keshet
Military Family Advisory Network
Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce
Modern Military Association of America
MomsRising
National Association of County Human Services Administrators
National Council of Jewish Women
National WIC Association
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
No One Left Behind
Operation Homefront
Psycharmor
Rabbinical Assembly
Share Our Strength
Soldiers’ Angels
Student Veterans of America
Tackle Hunger: Home of the Souper Bowl of Caring
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
The Episcopal Church
The Root Cause Coalition
The Workers Circle
Tricare for Kids Coalition
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Church of Christ
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
VoteVets