HARRISBURG, PA (August 2, 2013) — Nearly 1.8 million Pennsylvanians will see a cut in food assistance this fall equal to 21 lost meals per month for a family of four, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data discussed in a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.
营养援助是我们国家抗饥饿的第一道防线，也是帮助家庭摆脱贫困的有力工具。收益是微不足道的，它为宾夕法尼亚州的许多家庭提供了在缓慢的经济复苏中的重要桥梁。
The cut, which takes effect in November, is the result of an expiring provision included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that temporarily boosted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to strengthen the economy and ease hardship in the wake of the recession. (SNAP is the program formerly known as food stamps.)
“This small increase in food assistance has been a lifeline for many Pennsylvanians, a majority of whom work but earn low wages,” said Sharon Ward, Director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. “It has allowed many families to stay afloat during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.”
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center co-released the new report with the Coalition Against Hunger, Just Harvest, and Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
除了帮助养活饥饿的家庭，SNAP是刺激经济的最快，最有效的方法之一。 SNAP收益每增加$1，经济活动就会产生大约$1.70。收益增加了对农产品的需求，有助于保持我们国家的农业强势。
All of the more than 47 million Americans, including 22 million children, who receive SNAP benefits will be affected by the November cut in food assistance. In Pennsylvania, nearly 1.8 million people will be impacted.
Just Harvest client Ruth Vesa, a 78-year-old widow in Pittsburgh, said: “I’m very thankful for the food stamp program because it enables me to have good food to eat and not be worried about my medical prescriptions. Otherwise I would have to make a choice. Any cuts to the program would be hurtful to me personally."
The across-the-board cuts scheduled for November will reduce the program by $5 billion in fiscal year 2014 alone, including $183 million in Pennsylvania. Cuts of that magnitude will have a significant impact on low-income families.
对于一个三口之家，削减费用可能意味着每月减少$29 —在该财年的剩余11个月中减少$319。对于家庭而言，这是一个严重的损失，在削减之后，他们每餐每人的平均收益将低于$1.40。
根据预算和政策重点中心使用美国农业部“节俭食品计划”计算得出的费用，这项削减相当于四口之家每月减少21餐，三口之家每月减少16餐（费用让四口之家在家里购买并准备准骨饮食）。
"This is the first time in the history of the program that families will see their SNAP benefits drop overnight," said Julie Zaebst, Interim Director of the Coalition Against Hunger in Philadelphia. "Given the fact that many families’ benefits already run out before the end of the month, these cuts will be particularly painful."
“Food stamps have been a critical support for working families who are confronting poverty,” said Ken Regal, Executive Director of Just Harvest in Pittsburgh. “We shouldn’t forget that the majority of recipients are children and the elderly, for whom food assistance is essential. It is unconscionable that the richest nation in the world would take food out of the mouths of its most vulnerable citizens, who are struggling through no fault of their own. There should be no cuts to this modest assistance.”
On top of these across-the-board cuts to the program, the U.S. House of Representatives recently defeated legislation that would have cut $20 billion from SNAP. A recent study by the Health Impact Project, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, finds that a cut that large to SNAP would take benefits away from 5.1 million struggling Americans.
The House is considering and could vote on even deeper cuts to the program in the coming weeks. If enacted, such cuts could leave many families and their children without assistance to put food on the table when they need it most.
“Nutrition assistance has been a powerful tool in helping to keep families out of poverty,” said Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. “The majority of recipients who are able to work, do so. For those who can’t or are temporarily unable to find a job, food assistance has given them and their families a leg up. Now is not the time to cut this already modest assistance.”
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ full report, SNAP Benefits Will Be Cut for All Participants in November 2013, can be found at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3899.