On Oct. 27, the UFCW sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins imploring her to use contingency funding and funding for other USDA nutrition programs to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November.
SNAP is our nation’s largest food assistance program, serving 42 million people and supporting countless jobs along the food supply chain, and 80 percent of SNAP dollars are spent at traditional grocery stores where our members work and feed their communities. SNAP is an economic multiplier. Each $1 spent by SNAP generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity that is felt throughout the food chain—from farmers and ranchers, to food manufacturers and truckers, to grocers and store employees.
When families lose access to food assistance, grocery sales drop. That means fewer hours, fewer jobs, and more strain on workers all along the food supply chain, including meatpacking and food processing workers. Any lapse in SNAP funding will have devastating impacts for program beneficiaries and reduce hours and wages for food workers in every state and congressional district in the country.
The USDA has contingency funding that is available for SNAP. The USDA also has authority to transfer funds from other USDA nutrition programs. This authority was recently used by the USDA when it transferred money from child nutrition programs to the Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) account to maintain WIC benefits during the shutdown.
“Food assistance programs make sure that millions of families can put food on the table each month,” said UFCW International President Milton Jones in a statement. “It’s not only helpful for families in need – it’s also an economic multiplier. Our entire food system – including UFCW members at grocery stores, meatpacking plants, and food processing plants across the country – benefits when SNAP families can buy groceries.”
“Rising costs at the grocery store already threaten household budgets, especially for low-income families. An interruption in food assistance will only make matters worse, and workers in meatpacking, food processing, and grocery could see a reduction in hours and wages if SNAP dollars aren’t available to be spent in their stores or on their products.”
“Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has the authority and funding available to make sure families receive food assistance as we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Funding has already been redirected to maintain WIC benefits during this shutdown – SNAP should be no different.”
“Congress can come back together to end this shutdown, get food assistance to families, and prevent skyrocketing health care costs, but Republicans have shown no willingness to do so. Their failure means that Secretary Rollins has to act. The USDA must do the right thing and ensure all food assistance recipients receive their full benefit next month.”
You can read the full letter to Secretary Rollins here.
In addition to the letter to Secretary Rollins, the UFCW has launched a grassroots effort to demand that members of Congress stand up for food assistance and direct the USDA to release available funding to SNAP here.
The Communications Department has created a social media for locals to reach members about the importance of funding SNAP here.