Rising demand is not always a good thing.
Increasing demand for emergency food assistance means more of our neighbors are hungry.
And yet, the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits contained in the budget bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last week will result in historic reductions in benefits that low-income, sick and hungry people receive at a time when Forgotten Harvest and our partner food pantries are already struggling with the existing demand for our services.
The budget calls for approximately $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that are offset by $1.8 trillion in federal spending cuts $1.2 trillion of which comes from the SNAP and Medicaid programs.
Michigan food banks distributed 155.8 million meals last year. The cuts to SNAP contained in the budget reconciliation bill could result in Michigan families losing the equivalent of 284 million meals.
That is an increase in demand that far outstrips the existing emergency food system’s capacity. Hunger is going to increase among our fellow Michiganders because of this legislation.
Proponents of the bill contended that the federal government is not reducing funding and that the changes that are being made are intended to eliminate fraud and waste.
Neither of these statements are true. The budget calls for shifting 15-25% of the SNAP program costs and 25% of the administrative costs to the states. This will result in a new $900 million annual cost to the State of Michigan’s budget a cost that can only be paid by raising taxes or taking SNAP food assistance benefits away from people.
The biggest source of fraud in the existing SNAP program comes from thieves electronically stealing the benefits paid to SNAP recipients because Congress has not authorized properly encrypting SNAP benefit cards.
There are 1.474 million Michigan residents whose net household income is at or below the federal poverty threshold ($32,150 for a family of four), who are receiving SNAP benefits. This number includes 461,000 children and 225,000 senior citizens; 67% of SNAP beneficiaries also depend on Medicaid for health coverage.
There is nothing beautiful about making poor people both hungrier and sicker.
Americans should demand better from their members of Congress.
