SNAP INTO ACTION
At Capital Roots Urban Grow Center, pol urges colleagues to preserve funding for fed program
TROY, N.Y. » U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, toured Capital Roots Urban Grow Center on Friday.
The Democrat also took time to urge members of the Senate to reject President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut SNAP benefits for low-income families.
After her tour of the Troy facility, Gillibrand conducted a news conference to talk about Trump’s budget proposals.
Gillibrand said the Trump administration’s proposed budget would cut SNAP funding by $193 billion over 10 years, even though 12 percent of all Rensselaer County residents rely on SNAP for their meals.
“Capital Roots is an amazing resource for Troy and I am really impressed with all of the work that has been accomplished here
already,” Gillibrand said. “Everyone who comes here can see how important it is to have access to healthy nutritious foods. Unfortunately for too many people in Washington, access to vegetables and fruit and healthy meals for children and families, just doesn’t seem to be a priority at all, and even though President Trump promised he was going to fight for families out there who work hard every day but still
don’t have enough money to get by, this is a broken promise. I was disturbed to see that President Trump’s new budget, that he actually wants to cut SNAP funding by billions of dollars. I continue to be shocked by how little empathy some of my colleagues seem to have for hardworking families who do everything they possibly can to succeed, but still need the SNAP program in order to survive. Poverty is not a choice. These New Yorkers work, but their wages are just too low, and so they need SNAP to fill in the gaps. I will continue to fight in the Senate to protect SNAP funding, and I encourage everyone in the Capital Region to raise their voices and join me in this fight.”
“At Capital Roots, we work daily to provide Capital Region residents access to quality, fresh food, and programs such as SNAP are vital to ensuring it reaches their tables,” added Amy Klein, chief executive officer at Capital Roots. “Affordable access to healthy food is key to improving the nutritional content of food insecure households’ diets, helping them to live healthier and more productive lives.”
Gillibrand also gave some comments about how she feels about the latest Senate’s version of the healthcare bill under President Trump’s administration.
“The Senate version of the healthcare bill, in my view, is really horrible,” said Gillibrand. “I believe that access to quality affordable healthcare in America should be a right and not a privilege. The Senate bill presented yesterday would fundamentally harm Americans, young and old.”