Today is SNAP Call in Day, and we need your help to protect families from food insecurity. Today, Feeding Missouri joins hunger advocates and leading health and nutrition groups for a National Day of Action to urge Congress to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) strong for families. Please consider adding your voice to these efforts!
What is SNAP?
SNAP is the nation’s largest child nutrition program, serving about one in four U.S. children. SNAP, often referred to as food stamps in Missouri, lifts families out of poverty and helps them put food on the table, providing low-income individuals with an average of $126 in monthly resources to purchase food. Two-thirds of food stamp benefits go to families with children.
Why now?
The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are currently negotiating the Farm Bill, which reauthorizes SNAP (food stamps). Both chambers passed different versions of the Farm Bill, and now a select group of legislators are tasked with resolving the differences between the two bills and agreeing on a final version. The Academy supported the Senate bill, but strongly opposed the House version, which included harmful cuts to SNAP.
What you can do:
Tell your members of Congress to support the Senate Farm Bill and keep SNAP strong for families in the final Farm Bill.
Here’s how: The DC office phone numbers for your members of Congress are below along with talking points to guide your outreach.
Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. (D) First District (202) 225-2406
Rep. Ann Wagner (R) Second District (202) 225-1621
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) Third District (202) 225-2956
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R) Fourth District (202) 225-2876
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) Fifth District (202) 225-4535
Rep. Sam Graves (R) Sixth District (202) 225-7041
Rep. Billy Long (R) Seventh District (202) 225-6536
Rep. Jason T. Smith (R) Eighth District (202) 225-4404
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) (202) 224-6154
Sen. Roy Blunt (R) (202) 224-5721
Talking points:
- Hello. My name is {insert name}. As a community member and advocate for hungry Missourians, I am urging {insert U.S. representative’s/U.S. senator’s name} to support the Senate Farm Bill and keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) strong for families in the final Farm Bill.
- SNAP is the nation’s largest child nutrition program, serving about one in four U.S. children. It lifts millions of households out of poverty and helps families put food on the table. Two-thirds of SNAP benefits go to families with children.
- At a time when one in five children live in poverty and nearly half of all children live in low-income households, SNAP is critical to help families combat food insecurity and ensure children have the nutrition they need to grow up healthy.
- Child nutrition is a foundation of health. Children who are well-nourished early in life have healthier brain development, higher IQs, stronger immune systems, and better educational performance, than those who are not.
- The changes the House Farm Bill makes to SNAP would lead to many vulnerable children and families losing vital nutrition assistance. In fact, 62% of those who lose nutrition assistance are adults who live in households with children. The changes would also lead to hundreds of thousands of children losing access to free school meals.
- We must keep SNAP strong for the families who rely on it. I urge {insert U.S. representative’s/U.S. senator’s name} to support the Senate Farm Bill and protect SNAP in the final Farm Bill.
Thank you for your time.
