There comes a point in every disadvantaged family’s life when food becomes unaffordable and help is needed.
To see this doesn’t happen, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is calling for an extra $1.4 billion to fund the SNAP Women, Infants and Children program to cover a financial gap that threatens to leave the neediest Americans without access to food assistance.
This makes us question where the financial gap came from and why it wasn’t filled. In a virtual press conference last week, Gillibrand tried to answer that question. She said the program is not seen as a necessary increase in congressional funding, and with high food prices and a growing need for assistance, it’s dramatically underfunded.
In 2024, as food prices remain high, more and more families are turning to the WIC program for help. But WIC is facing a critical funding shortfall, and unless Congress acts, it will be forced to turn away as many as 2 million participants and applicants by September.
Running to form, Congress blew past the typical September deadline to finalize funding for the next fiscal year, and budget negotiations in Washington have been fraught with distractions this year as House Republicans battle between their right-wing and centrist ranks to fund the federal government next year. The latest deal set a deadline for Jan. 19 for some programs, and early February for others, and lawmakers are negotiating the details of the full fiscal package now.
It is unfortunate that children who don’t have enough food are “not seen as a necessary” reason for an increase in congressional funding. Far too many of our children are not getting enough to eat on a daily basis. We owe it to them to spare them from the indignities of hunger.