Families need more COVID-19 relief now from Congress
Dear Editor,
I helped a dear friend apply for SNAP (food stamps) today. She is scared for her family and so am I. She is struggling to put food on the table. I am angry and hurt on her behalf and I am worried for my friend.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Due to COVID-19, Sarah * and her family are struggling in a way they never have before. They did nothing wrong, in fact they did everything right. But here she is. Trying to figure out how to make ends meet and feed her children while keeping the lights on and mortgage paid. She has hit her limit.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Congress is far too sheltered. They do not face the real world the way we do in Marshall County. They do not see the suffering and fear and shrinking family budgets and paychecks. If they did, surely, they would have acted by now. The funds from the CARES Act have run their course and run out. Lines are getting longer for local mobile food distributions and more families are relying on our area food pantries.
Sarah and her husband are not alone. Across Marshall County, families are facing hunger who have never struggled before. COVID19 has impacted our economy deeply. The shockwaves from COVID mean that parents are skipping meals to make sure their children can eat.
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. America is better than this. Lawmakers in Washington D.C. must put political differences aside and start to consider our precious children and families struggling due to COVID-19. A 15% increase in SNAP (food stamp) funding would provide vital aid to hungry families. Too many Americans are on the brink. We need help and we need help now.
This moment is the time to lead. Hoosiers need a new COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress immediately. I am looking at you, Representative Jackie Walorski, Senator Todd Young, and Senator Mike Braun. Listen to us. We are voters. We are watching.
So is Sarah. And her children.
Angie Rupchock-schafer Plymouth
*I have changed her name to protect her anonymity