As Congress considers budget reconciliation and the future of critical nutrition and health programs, we urge Kentucky’s senators to protect and strengthen the programs that help families weather hard times and build better futures.
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s recently released text continues to raise concerns about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which currently helps 595,200 Kentuckians put food on the table, including 225,000 children and 73,000 seniors. These are our neighbors: working families striving to make ends meet, seniors on fixed incomes, and veterans working to maintain stability. Cuts or harmful changes to SNAP would put their well-being at risk, a risk our communities cannot afford.
Rural counties, where food insecurity is more prevalent and resources are often scarce, will be particularly hard-hit. Programs like SNAP keep grocery stores open and families healthy. Stripping funding or adding new bureaucratic hurdles only undermines recovery and pushes families further into hardship.
The Senate provisions risk cutting off benefits for families with children over 10, which could cause childhood food insecurity rates to skyrocket.
Additionally, shifting the cost of SNAP benefits onto the states will not reduce taxpayers' burden; it will simply shift costs to a different taxing authority.
God’s Pantry Food Bank and our partners serve thousands of Kentuckians each month, but for every meal we create, SNAP provides 9. And every dollar spent on SNAP benefits generates $1.65 in economic activity. We simply cannot fill those gaps. Federal nutrition and health programs provide the scale, structure, and stability that our communities depend on.
At God’s Pantry Food Bank, we are already operating at full capacity alongside our network of food pantries and meal programs. We need strong federal programs, food banks, and community partners all working together to solve the hunger crisis. Now is the time to come together to preserve and strengthen SNAP.
Hunger is nonpartisan; hunger is also solvable. However, solving it requires a strong national commitment to programs that work. We call on our senators to stand with us in opposing any budget that weakens SNAP and to support a bipartisan farm bill that strengthens these programs for the future.
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Editor’s note: This is part one of a three-part series on the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill. A statement will be released tomorrow regarding the impacts of work requirements on families with school-aged children, and another statement will be released on Monday regarding cost-shifting and administrative burdens
About God’s Pantry Food bank:
1 in 6 people in Kentucky do not know when they will receive their next meal – in Central and Eastern Kentucky, it is 1 in 5. We empower more than 500 food pantries and meal programs across Central and Eastern Kentucky. Our vision: A nourished life for every Kentuckian. Our mission: Reducing hunger by working together to feed Kentucky communities. Visit godspantry.org to learn more.
