HOPEWELL JUNCTION – Congressman
Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) was joined by representatives of local
food insecurity organizations at Fishkill Farms on Thursday to discuss
the potential impact of the latest farm bill.
The Farm Bill, possible funding cuts from the Trump administration, survival of SNAP, among many topics discussed
Every five years, Congress votes to reauthorize the farm bill, which puts policies in place that bring food from farms into grocery stores and homes and authorizes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, a federally funded program that offers nutritional assistance to those who need it. The current farm bill is set to expire this September.
SNAP could face cuts in funding under President Donald Trump’s
proposed budget for this year. His proposed spending plan seeks to cut
$214 billion from food assistance programs over the next decade, but Maloney
does not seem fazed by this proposed cut.
“I am absolutely committed to keeping SNAP where it is,” Maloney said. “What’s going to happen is we are going to struggle in committee to get a bill onto the floor of the House. Nothing is going to pass the floor of the House because the Republicans are really obsessed with cutting this program, without some sort of cuts in the SNAP program in the House version of the bill. As was true last time, those will not survive in the Senate. You will see that reduced or eliminated in the Senate version because you are going to need nine Democrats on that bill in the Senate.”
The Democratic lawmaker said the proposed budget is “dead-on arrival, but it shows you what their values are,” Maloney said. “It shows you what they would do if they didn’t have to confront the value of this program. I’m going to fight for this program tooth and nail.”
Josh Morgenthau, owner and operator of Fishkill Farms, weighed in on the importance of SNAP as well.
“SNAP hasn’t been a perfect solution, but it has been successful and efficient in feeding America’s hungry,” Morgenthau said.
Director of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley Paul Stener discussed the negative impact of food insecurity on children.
“As the parent of two young kids, what troubles me the most that food insecurity disproportionately affects children,” Stener said. “The consequences of food insecurity on children are devastating, and include delayed cognitive and physical development. We could say that hunger robs our communities of incredible amounts of human potential.”
Other populations affected by food insecurity include military veterans, people with disabilities and those who are in-between jobs, according to Stener.
Sherry Tomasky, of the nonprofit organization Hunger Solutions New York, pointed out SNAP’s long history of bipartisan support in Congress and addressed the fact that hunger is a universal issue.
“I have yet to meet someone who is starving and able to go on a job interview and do well,” Tomasky said. “I have yet to meet a child who goes to school on an empty stomach and does well on any standardized test or quiz. It’s not possible for humans to do that, and that is why SNAP is so important, because people who are down on their luck can get food through [this program].”
The issue of poor health among the nation’s economically disadvantaged and how access to local produce offers potential solutions was brought up by Morgenthau. “We’re in the midst of a health crisis,” he said. “Type II diabetes, heart disease, obesity are all plaguing our population at rates we have never seen before, and unfortunately these health issues are often most acute for our nation’s poorest who can’t afford or aren’t educated on the benefits of a healthy, well-balanced diet.”
Sarah Simon, of Common Ground Farm in Wappingers Falls, emphasized how the organization she works for seeks to incorporate produce into the diets of the area’s food insecure population.
“We feel like everyone has the right to eat healthily and eat fresh and good food, and we try to make that happen in lots of ways,” Simon said.
Common Ground Farm has been active in selling produce to schools and working with food pantries and soup kitchens, according to Simon. She also stated that the organization has moved the Beacon farmer’s market from the waterfront up to Main Street, and attendance has increased fourfold.
In Maloney’s district alone, over 64,000 people currently suffer from food insecurity, according to Hunger Solutions New York. Out of those, nearly 29,000 are children and 78 percent are working families. Across New York state, one in seven have access to SNAP and more than $4.9 billion in SNAP benefits were spent at over 18,000 retailers, which helps to sustain jobs.
