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No one should go hungry in America. That’s a pretty simple notion that Americans should be able to agree on.
However, an estimated 170,000 people in Maine may soon go hungry as the federal government shutdown drags on. The Trump administration has warned that there will be no more federal funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, beginning this weekend.
Unlike during previous shutdowns, the administration has refused to use other U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to keep the SNAP funding flowing, and people fed.
Thankfully, businesses, farms, generous individuals and others in Maine have stepped up to help provide meals to people who need them. This support is welcome but it shouldn’t be necessary in a wealthy country with an abundance of resources.
Gov. Janet Mills said she is talking with state lawmakers to look for funding to continue to provide SNAP benefits in Maine. On Wednesday, she announced she was allocating $1 million from a governor’s contingency account to Good Shepherd Food Bank and other anti-hunger programs. The funds, along with $250,000 from the John T. Gorman Foundation, will be used statewide.
State senator and gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett has urged Mills to call lawmakers into a special session in November to find ways to address unmet need for food. The state has also joined a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s refusal to continue funding the program.
Sen. Susan Collins has co-sponsored a bill to resume SNAP funding. She has also sent a letter to the USDA head urging that funding for the program continue despite the shutdown.
Sen. Angus King signed on to a similar letter from Senate Democrats urging immediate release of available USDA funds for the food assistance.
Rather than work to alleviate this looming disaster, too many Americans, including some in the administration, are quick to blame SNAP recipients for being lazy and entitled.
Here are some facts about SNAP.
Nearly three-quarters of households that receive SNAP in Maine include someone who works, some more than one job.
More than half of these households include someone with a disability and 43 percent include an older adult. These people often cannot work, not because they don’t want to but because they are physically unable to.
A third of the households that receive SNAP in Maine include children, who should never go hungry.
This would suggest that low wages and rising costs of living — not laziness — are a persistent problem. If someone works full time and still can’t afford enough food for themselves and their family, we need to reassess working conditions in America. Likewise, when housing eats up an unduly large portion of paychecks, policymakers need to be more serious about increasing affordable housing. Ditto for child care and health care.
Rather than demonizing those who need help, we should have a serious — and compassionate — conversation about what needs to change.
For decades, the cost of living has risen while the salaries of average American workers have essentially been stagnant. The bulk of wage growth in recent decades has been among the highest earners.
This doesn’t just feed the growing resentment of rich Americans, it furthers a system where too many people are struggling to afford food, housing, health insurance and health care, child care, and education, let alone savings for retirement.
These, of course, are large issues that won’t be solved quickly. But we can’t let our attention get diverted from them.
Then there is the issue of the priorities of the current administration. The U.S. is sending $40 billion to Argentina, buying luxury jets for cabinet officials and the president has torn down a portion of the White House to build a gilded ballroom.
Shouldn’t America’s priorities include feeding hungry people, especially children? Ensuring that people who work can afford to live?
In the short term, the priority must be restoring funding for SNAP. No one should go hungry in America.
