The Farm Bill in the House that likely will win support this week would cut $20.5 billion from the food stamp program over 10 years, taking almost 2 million recipients off the food stamp rolls, as estimated by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Because members of low-income working families with children who get benefit from school lunch and breakfast programs would be affected by those cuts, Tampa-area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor was joined by Hillsborough County School District head MaryEllen Elia at Tampa Bay Elementary in West Tampa to decry the House proposal.
"Food stamps were very important during the economic recession because people lost their jobs and the last thing you want is for a child to go hungry ,show up to school with having breakfast and lunch, so SNAP provided that safety net for children all across this community, " Castor said Monday morning as kindergarten students entered into the cafeteria behind her for their lunch period.
SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. As CL reported in our current issue, the number of people relying on SNAP to help ends meet is at a record high, 47 million, with over 3.3 million in Florida. That’s a 70 percent increase since 2008. Under the Supplementary Poverty Measure, the Census Bureau estimates that nearly one in six people in the country are now living in poverty.
But both the Senate and the House editions of the Farm Bill will reduce the number of people eligible going forward. The Senate's bill (passed last week) cuts SNAP by $4 billion, one fifth of that ominous $20 billion figure that the House is contemplating, and Congresswoman Castor says that's alright.
"As the economy improves, more parents are working. They don’t have to rely on SNAP and food stamps. We just can’t take those extreme steps right now because I think that would put children across this community at risk for not having a nutritious meal."
Children in households that receive SNAP are automatically eligible for free school meals. According to Congressional Budget Office, 210,000 children in families whose eligibility for free school meals is tied to their receipt of SNAP would lose free school meals.
School Board Chair MaryEllen Elia told reporters at the news conference that the district has 101 sites open this summer that are open for breakfast and lunch. "This is a great program," she said, adding that until legislation is passed she won't be able to determine how many students will suffer.
"What we have to do is wait until the decision is made in Congress," said, adding "and then the calculations on how much our district will be cut from the Student Nutrition Programs will be determined and at that point in time we will have to make some tough choices.”
After the House presumably votes in support of their current bill later this week, the question then becomes can a conference committee between the two branches of Congress come together on a package that can be brought to President Obama?
Last year the vast differences between the Senate and the House's bill meant no Farm Bill was passed, and ultimately a nine-month extension was funded during the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations on New Years Eve. And what does Congresswoman Castor think of the a deal getting passed this summer (funding for the bill expires September 30).
"I think if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to take the extreme position that would slash families and children from nutrition programs before their able to get a job then the likelihood of the Farm Bill passing is not positive," she replied, adding that she hears an amendment could be added to the House bill that would cut even more from SNAP.