Why food stamps are crucial to many in Delaware County

To the Times: President Trump’s recently proposed budget calls for more than $190 billion in cuts over the next decade to one of the most effective and efficient poverty-reduction programs in the country: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. For decades, SNAP has helped to put food on the table for struggling families, providing assistance to those facing difficult times. Cuts to this program would be a devastation to our community.

SNAP is a crucial resource for many families living in Delaware County. Over 71,000 residents (roughly one in 13) received help from the program in March 2017 alone. This means it is likely that someone you know — a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker — has relied on SNAP at one point or another to help feed their family. Further, SNAP protects some of our county’s most vulnerable residents, with more than two-thirds of participants in our area being children (30,000), seniors (9,000), and adults with disabilities (9,000).

Research shows that the majority of SNAP recipients who can work, do. SNAP is a critical work support for those whose wages are too low to make ends meet. Service-industry jobs are the fastest growing in America, which is dominated by low wage positions that lack benefits and sick leave, and often provide only parttime hours with variable schedules that make it difficult to pick up additional work or schedule child care. Keep in mind that the average hourly wage in Pennsylvania for those who prepare our food ($10.61), clean our homes ($10.87), care for our children ($10.25), and provide health care that allows our loved ones to remain at home ($13.11) amounts to an annual income between $21,320-$27,269 for a full-time worker (a range that straddles the poverty line - $24,600 for a family of four).

SNAP also supports those temporarily out of work. Growing up in Media during the Great Recession, I witnessed how job cuts hurt local families who had previously been living comfortably. SNAP is efficient, as it responds to such changes in the economy. When the recession hit, SNAP participation increased, providing stability for families with parents suddenly out of work. This helped sustain our community and put food on the table for many who found themselves under strained circumstances. SNAP doesn’t only help those receiving benefits; it also puts money back into our local economy. Economists estimate that every one dollar of SNAP benefits has an economic impact of $1.70. In 2016 alone, SNAP benefits generated over $186 million in economic activity in Delaware County. This means more money is being spent at your local grocery store or food market, helping to create jobs, pay salaries, sustain vital businesses, and ultimately foster a healthy community where people want to live. SNAP also allows a family to direct its limited income to other necessities – paying rent or mortgage, utility bills, and child care.

As a public health student who has worked with SNAP recipients for the past several years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the connection between hunger and health. When you’re not constantly worrying about how you’ll put food on the table for your family, you can concentrate on searching for or fulfilling the duties of a job, paying your medical bills, taking care of the health of yourself and your loved ones. This leads to healthier, more productive families and communities.

Some argue that if SNAP funding is cut, our community will be able make up this deficit through charities. What they fail to acknowledge is that local anti-hunger organizations are already operating at capacity; many are stretched too thin. Federal nutrition programs (the largest of these being SNAP) provide nearly 20 times the amount of food assistance as do private agencies. There would be no way for charities to make up for the astronomical cuts being proposed in the president’s budget.

Hunger is not a partisan issue; it affects people everywhere, including right here in Delaware County. These proposed SNAP cuts put the food security, health, learning, and productivity of our community in peril. I urge you to contact your federal elected officials and tell them to protect SNAP from cuts.