by Annie Kirschner

We believe everyone is better off when people facing hard times have access to food. It’s the basic logic behind preventing hunger.

Well, we have bad news. The Trump Administration has finalized a devastating new SNAP policy that would do the opposite – take food away from more than 700,000 people across the nation when they need it most. The policy will make it harder for underemployed workers to access food assistance when they have trouble finding steady work of more than 20 hours a week.

Sound familiar? Many of you submitted public comment this spring, when we first shared the proposed rule.

The bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill that passed last December rejected these changes. The Trump Administration has now bypassed Congress and constituent voices and enacted these restrictions unilaterally.

This is an incredibly unfair policy. Other adjectives that come to mind: short sighted, cruel, counter productive, dehumanizing.

Hunger won’t help someone nail a job interview, ace a training program or land a promotion. Cutting SNAP won’t help create jobs in Oregon.

Despite USDA rhetoric, these harsh time limits certainly don’t provide jobs or opportunity for SNAP participants–instead they cut off vulnerable people from a crucial resource at a time of highest need. It deeply undermines our belief that ALL people have the right to be free from hunger.

It will have a wide impact in Oregon, though the state is still calculating just how many people will be hurt. People of color will likely be disproportionately impacted. Because of racial discrimination in the labor market and other systemic barriers, they experience unemployment rates much higher than the general unemployment rate. We are working hard this week to analyze the 100+ page policy and we’ll be updating this page, as well as our ABAWD page for people who will be impacted.

There is one thing we do know now–this policy will NOT impact you if you’re younger than 18 or older than 50, have children, have a disability or are working steadily more than 20 hours a week.

How will this impact you?

The President’s administration created this policy, ignoring our voices. But we won’t stop speaking up. If this policy will hurt you, your family or your community, please share with us. What has it meant to have SNAP while looking for work? Have you already had your SNAP benefits hit by time limits? Use our story-sharing tool here.

 

Food for Oregonians experiencing hunger shouldn’t have a time limit. Thank you for standing firmly together with our community.