Latest news with #U.S.HouseCommitteeonAgriculture
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1 in 5 Kentucky kids faces hunger. Congress is considering a plan that would make it worse.
When children don't have consistent access to meals, it impacts their development, their education and their future. (Stock photo by Inti St. Clair/Getty Photos) In Kentucky more than 753,000 residents, or 1 in 6, face hunger. They often don't know where and when their next meal will be. That sobering statistic is felt daily across the commonwealth — from families forced to choose between groceries and rent to schools struggling to meet students' basic needs. Food banks and our partners across the state are doing all we can to provide millions of meals annually and coordinate critical emergency support — but we can't do it alone, and we certainly can't do it with policy that sends us backward. But that's just what's happening, and hungry Kentuckians will pay the price. The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture has proposed a plan that would quietly shift the burden and worsen the problem. If passed, the Kentucky budget would be responsible for funding over $150 million annually by 2028 just to maintain current benefit levels. With food insecurity projected to rise, that cost will likely increase even more. We're sure federal and state governments will jostle for who is to blame, but the bottom line is simple: Fewer Kentuckians will be able to eat. And that's why we're pushing back. The proposal under consideration would throw the entire SNAP system off, and there's no solution being offered. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) works because it can scale up quickly when people are struggling, like after a natural disaster, such as recent tornadoes. States just don't have the resources to handle that kind of surge. Keeping SNAP federally funded is the only way to ensure it's there when people really need it. Charitable food assistance steps in where other support falls short, but it's not enough. For every meal provided by the charitable food system, SNAP delivers nine. That ratio matters. Reducing access to SNAP won't just stretch food banks thinner, it will stretch family budgets to the breaking point. Hunger is not just about food; it's about health, learning and opportunity. When children don't have consistent access to meals, it impacts their development, their education and their future. In Kentucky, 1 in 5 kids faces hunger. When adults don't have food, they can't be expected to perform their best at their job. The consequences ripple far beyond the dinner table. We already know what works. The community eligibility provision helps high-poverty schools serve free meals to all students. Summer EBT provides grocery assistance when school is out. SNAP helps families put food on the table every night. These aren't luxuries — they're lifelines. And they're part of our shared responsibility to ensure no Kentuckian goes hungry. Kentucky's food banks are committed to doing our part. But systemic hunger cannot be solved through charity alone. We need policies that protect families and uphold the principle that access to food is a basic human right. Anyone can experience hunger. A job loss, medical emergency or child-care crisis can leave a family facing food insecurity. These programs offer dignity, consistency and hope when it matters most. And no matter our political beliefs, we should agree on this: No legislation should determine who gets to eat and who doesn't. Congress can act to protect and strengthen the nutrition programs that keep families afloat and give children a fair shot. We can work together to build a future where no one in Kentucky goes hungry. Melissa McDonald is executive director of Feeding Kentucky, a statewide network of seven Kentucky food banks and their partners.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1 in 5 Kentucky kids faces hunger. Congress is considering a plan that would make it worse.
When children don't have consistent access to meals, it impacts their development, their education and their future. (Stock photo by Inti St. Clair/Getty Photos) In Kentucky more than 753,000 residents, or 1 in 6, face hunger. They often don't know where and when their next meal will be. That sobering statistic is felt daily across the commonwealth — from families forced to choose between groceries and rent to schools struggling to meet students' basic needs. Food banks and our partners across the state are doing all we can to provide millions of meals annually and coordinate critical emergency support — but we can't do it alone, and we certainly can't do it with policy that sends us backward. But that's just what's happening, and hungry Kentuckians will pay the price. The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture has proposed a plan that would quietly shift the burden and worsen the problem. If passed, the Kentucky budget would be responsible for funding over $150 million annually by 2028 just to maintain current benefit levels. With food insecurity projected to rise, that cost will likely increase even more. We're sure federal and state governments will jostle for who is to blame, but the bottom line is simple: Fewer Kentuckians will be able to eat. And that's why we're pushing back. The proposal under consideration would throw the entire SNAP system off, and there's no solution being offered. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) works because it can scale up quickly when people are struggling, like after a natural disaster, such as recent tornadoes. States just don't have the resources to handle that kind of surge. Keeping SNAP federally funded is the only way to ensure it's there when people really need it. Charitable food assistance steps in where other support falls short, but it's not enough. For every meal provided by the charitable food system, SNAP delivers nine. That ratio matters. Reducing access to SNAP won't just stretch food banks thinner, it will stretch family budgets to the breaking point. Hunger is not just about food; it's about health, learning and opportunity. When children don't have consistent access to meals, it impacts their development, their education and their future. In Kentucky, 1 in 5 kids faces hunger. When adults don't have food, they can't be expected to perform their best at their job. The consequences ripple far beyond the dinner table. We already know what works. The community eligibility provision helps high-poverty schools serve free meals to all students. Summer EBT provides grocery assistance when school is out. SNAP helps families put food on the table every night. These aren't luxuries — they're lifelines. And they're part of our shared responsibility to ensure no Kentuckian goes hungry. Kentucky's food banks are committed to doing our part. But systemic hunger cannot be solved through charity alone. We need policies that protect families and uphold the principle that access to food is a basic human right. Anyone can experience hunger. A job loss, medical emergency or child-care crisis can leave a family facing food insecurity. These programs offer dignity, consistency and hope when it matters most. And no matter our political beliefs, we should agree on this: No legislation should determine who gets to eat and who doesn't. Congress can act to protect and strengthen the nutrition programs that keep families afloat and give children a fair shot. We can work together to build a future where no one in Kentucky goes hungry. Melissa McDonald is executive director of Feeding Kentucky, a statewide network of seven Kentucky food banks and their partners.
The Hill
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Nebraska banning soda, energy drinks from SNAP under first federal waiver
Nebraska has received the first federal waiver to ban soda and energy drinks from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. The move is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026 as a part of a broader effort to restrict taxpayer dollars from contributing to the purchase of sugary drinks and junk food under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 'SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there's nothing nutritious about the junk we're removing with today's waiver,' Gov. Jim Pillen (R-Neb.) said in a Monday press release. Governors in Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia and Colorado are also considering similar changes to SNAP benefits. Program funds are supplied by the USDA and administered individually by states. Recipients right now are able to buy anything except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods. Researchers have long argued that SNAP restrictions are unlikely to change eating patterns, and that it will be costly for the federal government to track 650,000 food and beverage products on the market and 20,000 new products introduced annually, according to economic policy researcher Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach's 2017 testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. 'The complexity is multiplied because there is no clear standard for defining foods as 'healthy' or 'unhealthy,' or as luxury goods. Creating such standards would be difficult at best, and would entail substantial administrative costs to categorize and track the nutritional profile of each good to produce a SNAP-eligible foods list,' she told lawmakers. 'The list would have to be maintained continuously and communicated to retailers and consumers in real time.' However, Trump administration officials say Nebraska's new initiative falls in line with the Make America Healthy Again agenda, trademarked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has largely focused on eliminating disease through food consumption since his confirmation. 'The one place that I would say that we need to really change policy is the SNAP program and food stamps and in school lunches,' Kennedy previously said during a February appearance on Fox News's 'The Ingraham Angle.' 'There, the federal government in many cases is paying for it. And we shouldn't be subsidizing people to eat poison,' he added. Prediabetes now affects one in three children ages 12 to 19 while 40 percent of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic condition according to the USDA.
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Money for foreign animal disease prevention is vital for US agriculture
Money for foreign animal disease prevention is vital for US agriculture | Opinion The bird flu outbreak is just the latest warning that our food security depends on healthy flocks and herds nationwide. American farmers and ranchers undertake incredible responsibilities to feed and fuel our country and the world. They work from sunup to sundown to ensure that our grocery stores and meat counters are fully stocked and that we can enjoy nutritious meals. Yet, American agriculture faces a multitude of threats to this core mission. Regulations like Waters of the United States saddle our producers with regulatory uncertainty. High input costs caused by inflation squeeze margins. Low commodity prices hamstring farm income. The death tax threatens to end rural traditions and put family farms out of business permanently. Taken together, these challenges make farming and ranching — already demanding professions — even more difficult. An additional, covert — yet extremely alarming — threat that requires our constant attention is the spread of foreign animal disease within our borders. The most recent data from the federal government confirms that more than 147 million birds — mainly chickens and turkeys — have been affected by bird flu, and over 11,000 wild birds have tested positive for the virus. To contain further spread, tens of millions of birds have been depopulated, causing egg prices to skyrocket and leaving poultry and egg producers with major uncertainty about the path forward. We must also remain vigilant about the threats lurking at our doorstep, such as African Swine Fever. According to research conducted at Iowa State University, African Swine Fever would cause nearly $80 billion in economic losses for the pork and beef industries, cut 60,000 American jobs, and lead to a reduction in pork and beef prices anywhere between 50% and 60%. The bird flu outbreak is just the latest warning that our food security depends on healthy flocks and herds nationwide. It's the responsibility of lawmakers — particularly those of us on the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture — to do more to support the surveillance, prevention, and mitigation of foreign animal disease outbreaks. In August, the day before spending time at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, we had the unique opportunity to tour the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Iowa State University in Ames, which is one of only 11 fully accredited Tier 1 labs within the National Animal Healthy Laboratory Network. We met with veterinarians, diagnosticians and veterinary toxicologists to learn more about how they test animal samples to detect various illnesses and diseases. The lab also works closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on prevention, surveillance, and mitigation initiatives. In the farm bill we passed out of the Agriculture Committee with bipartisan support last May, we acknowledged the importance of foreign animal disease prevention and response by fully funding the three-legged stool: the laboratory network, the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank. The three-legged stool of animal health supports on-farm biosecurity efforts, vaccine stockpiles, diagnostic test kits, emergency response, and farm education initiatives on foreign animal disease prevention and mitigation. Coordination among local, state and federal partners; farmers and ranchers; our university systems; and other pertinent stakeholders is vital to keeping animal diseases out of our country and responding to emergencies in an effective and efficient manner. The Beagle Brigade Act, signed into law on Jan. 6, calls for the National Detector Dog Training Center to train dogs, including beagles, to inspect cargo, baggage, and vehicles at our borders and detect foreign diseases that pose a significant threat to agriculture. These detection measures at our border and other ports of entry protect American agriculture from a scourge of disease outbreaks, safeguard the health and well-being of livestock and poultry, and keep our farmers, ranches, and producers financially whole. While our work to prevent and combat the spread of foreign animal disease never truly ends, investments like those in last year's committee-passed farm bill are crucial to responding to the current bird flu outbreak and keeping African Swine Flu and foot-and-mouth disease out of our hog confinements and cattle yards. Representing agricultural producers in Iowa and Pennsylvania, and advocating for American farmers in all 50 states, we recommit our efforts to passing the farm bill and ensuring that President Donald Trump can sign it into law as quickly as possible. We cannot ignore the current crisis nor wait for the next to take decisive action for the good of American agriculture. G.T. Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican, chairs the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. Randy Feenstra, who represents Iowa's 4th Congressional District, is a member of the committee.
