Happy SNAP-iversary!

On Sept. 29, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Food Stamp Act into law. Born out of a strong bipartisan partnership between Republican Sen. Robert Dole and Democratic Sen. George McGovern, food stamps, later renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), became our first line of defense against hunger.

Through the years, SNAP has been our most effective tool in reducing hunger. By providing assistance to low-income people to purchase food, SNAP generates economic activity while helping our neighbors in need afford more nutritious food. As a result, SNAP has been shown to improve health outcomes for recipients. Low-income kids who have grown up on SNAP do better in school, have better health, and get a better start on life than their peers who needed but were unable to access this program.

History shows us the effectiveness of SNAP: hunger declined steeply after the introduction of food stamps until progress was halted when food stamps were slashed under Pres. Ronald Reagan. As a direct result, our neighbors in need turned to charitable emergency food programs, the numbers of which rose astronomically during the 1980s.

But despite our best efforts, the work of emergency food providers has been admirable but not enough to supplant the effectiveness of food stamps. Hunger still persists in our communities at higher than pre-recession levels. It takes a strong partnership between private, charitable organizations and government programs like SNAP to help families and individuals access enough nutritious food to meet their household’s basic needs.

We must take this moment to learn from history and keep from repeating past mistakes. Despite stubbornly high rates of hunger and food insecurity, Congress once again is discussing slashing SNAP: the House Budget Resolution proposes cutting SNAP by more than $150 billion over the next 10 years by turning SNAP into a block grant. A block grant would end SNAP as we know it. Proponents of block grants will say that this gives states flexibility to operate SNAP, but in reality, SNAP would no longer have the flexibility to grow and contract according to need. Funding would be capped so that SNAP cannot cover all who are eligible and in need. It would no longer be a safety net for all of us during times of economic downturn or natural disaster. Block granting SNAP guarantees only one thing: hunger will grow in our communities.

So let’s use this SNAP-iversary to celebrate SNAP. Call on Congress to renew bipartisan support and efforts to strengthen this program and help it reach its full potential to help hungry people get back on their feet. Keep SNAP strong for another 40 years and beyond!

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