MAZON Statements

Following the Senate’s vote to confirm Tom Vilsak as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Abby J. Leibman, President and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, called on the new secretary to follow President Biden’s lead in prioritizing food access amid the pandemic:

“We congratulate Secretary Vilsack on returning to the role of USDA Secretary, and we look forward to working closely with him to prioritize real solutions for the millions of Americans facing hunger. We know that he understands and appreciates the critical role of programs like SNAP (formerly food stamps) in ensuring that people across the country can feed themselves and their families. We anticipate strong and thoughtful leadership under Secretary Vilsack to address the fact that Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color face longstanding and structural barriers to food access, and they have been hit particularly hard by the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

At MAZON, we know that hunger is not an individual problem — it’s a matter of political will. Driven by our strong foundation of Jewish values, we will continue to urge the Administration and Congress to advance proven and effective policy solutions to end hunger that respect human dignity and recognize the needs of our diverse communities.”