We Did It! Farm Bill Protects SNAP!

A final agreement on the Farm Bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support out of both the Senate and the House this week. This Farm Bill protects SNAP, ensuring that struggling families and individuals will continue to have access to this vital program that helps them buy nutritious food from grocery stores, farmers markets, and farm stands.

This is an incredible victory given that just a few months ago, we were urging you to be relentless in calling on Congress to reject harsh and harmful proposals that threatened to take SNAP from individuals and parents who face significant barriers to finding consistent and good paying jobs. You answered that call by calling and emailing our delegation, writing and publishing letters in your local papers, meeting with your members of Congress at town halls and in your communities, sharing your stories about what SNAP means to you and our communities, and mobilizing your networks. We can’t thank you enough. Because of you, SNAP will continue doing its important work of helping struggling people meet a basic need for food while generating economic activity in our local communities.

In addition to protecting SNAP, this Farm Bill will also reduce barriers for seniors to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and increase funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program which provides commodities for distribution at food banks. It also establishes a national pilot for food banks to receive surplus agricultural products purchased by the state to distribute to families in need.

We also must celebrate the combined efforts of advocates throughout Washington and our nation that rallied and submitted over 210,000 comments on the proposed rule that is forcing legally residing immigrants to choose between food and their families. Thank you for writing and submitting your comment, opposing harmful changes to the public charge rule!

We hope you have a restful and happy holiday season and will be ready to join us for the advocacy opportunities that will come with the new year, including our efforts in the state legislature and fighting back efforts to make harmful changes to SNAP through administrative action. These victories are proof that advocacy works and that every voice-especially yours-counts!

Please take a moment to Take Action by writing to our Senators and your Member of Congress thanking them for their vote for the Farm Bill, a vote that protects struggling individuals and families in our communities and their access to nutritious food.

WHAT YOU CAN DO