July 25, 2019 3:40 a.m.
Anti-hunger leaders in Oregon and locally, are reacting to a proposal by the Trump administration.
A release from the Oregon Food Bank and Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon said the directive from President Trump and the U.S. Department of Agriculture would curtail SNAP eligibility resulting in the loss of SNAP, or food stamp, benefits for 3.1 million Americans.
Susannah Morgan, CEO of Oregon Food Bank, questioned the plan. She said the families most likely to lose benefits are “usually working, sometimes more than one job, saving a little, and earning modestly more than the standard eligibility level”.
Annie Kirschner, Executive Director of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon said the proposed change would “take food away from families in Oregon, make it harder for kids to get school meals, and add red tape and inefficiency to a program that is working well”.
The release said the USDA announced the proposed rule change on Tuesday. It was published in the federal register Wednesday, kicking off a 60-day public comment period which will end on September 23rd.
The release said the proposed rule change would prevent Oregon from allowing households with incomes up to 185 percent of the federal poverty limit, or modest assets, to apply for SNAP. These households, like all SNAP applicants, have to show a net income at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level after accounting for living expenses, according to the release.
It also says that because SNAP eligibility qualifies children for free school meals, its estimated that 260,000 children will lose those meals, according to the release.
In Douglas County, Mike Fieldman, Executive Director for the United Community Action Network, said the move will increase the number of people going through the food bank system. Fieldman said it will mean “people having to make no win decisions between buying food or paying for other essential needs like shelter, heat or medicine”. Fieldman said proposal would be “very harmful to families and children in our community who already struggle to meet their basic needs”.
Fieldman said so far, he has not heard any information as to approximately how many people locally would be impacted by the directive.