WSBC Voices for Love in Action Focus for August:
Love for Those Who Hunger
Food is essential for life. While most of us count on having what we need, that’s not true for everyone in this wealthy country. In our lifetimes, we have had “safety net programs” to help insure that no one goes hungry, but recent federal legislation has put holes in those safety nets and put many at risk of increased food insecurity. Let’s look at what has happened and ways that we at Watts Street may be able to help.
The first strike came in March when the Trump administration eliminated two programs that gave food banks and schools affordable access to fresh produce and meat from local farmers. NC’s share of the over $1 billion that was pulled back was $11.4 million from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (designed to help states purchase agricultural products from local growers and producers for distribution to schools and food banks) and $19 million from the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. Both of these pull-backs take food away from school children and the poor, who depend on supplemental food from food banks and food pantries.
Then, in July, with the passage of the Big ___ Bill, cuts to the SNAP program (formerly food stamps) were put into law. The magnitude of cuts, which will not take effect until after the midterm elections, is not yet clear since cost-shifting to the states is part of the plan. The cost to the states will be dependent on their SNAP error rate: any rate above 6% will result in penalties of 5% – 15% to state SNAP payments. This does two things: 1) makes it impossible to currently say what the cuts will be, and 2) makes it likely that some states will decide to reduce or eliminate their SNAP programs.
What we do know is that these cuts have all been signed into law and that local programs and farmers are already hurting. Some of these close to home include Catawba Trail Farm, which has had to end its food distribution program because grants have dried up; Farmer Food Share, a Durham-based non-profit, that supports both small farmers and hungry people by buying from small farmers and distributing to those in need (including food boxes for Catawba Trail Farm’s distribution); and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, which provides food to many smaller food pantries. All are more limited in their reach because of these administrative/legislative actions.
So what can we do? Most immediately, we can donate to these and other organizations that provide food to the hungry. We can also volunteer to help any of these groups. Volunteer labor reduces their costs so they can focus on buying food.
In the near and long term, we can each engage in our own forms of activism. This starts with staying informed, then calling, emailing or snail-mailing our elected officials to voice our opinions about pending legislation. We can also take part in peaceful demonstrations that collectively express our feelings or share original writing, art, or music to individually express the same.
Each person has different gifts and comfort levels about how to do these things. None of can do this alone. Instead, as former pastor Mel Williams used to say, grab the near edge of the problem, and do something. Together we can make a difference.