Strengthen the Farm Bill

The Farm Bill’s impact is bigger in Texas. 

•  Texans represent a major segment of the national food insecure population – 1 in every 12 SNAP recipients, and 1 in every 9 food insecure families reside in Texas.  

The federal nutrition programs governed by the Farm Bill are the backbone of hunger relief in our nation. 

• In their basic design and outcomes, these programs work extremely well in their mission to fight hunger and nourish Texas families. They should be celebrated.
• SNAP and TEFAP have consistently proven their value by reducing the burden of hunger for millions of Texans in times of pandemic, natural disaster, and economic distress. 

Fighting hunger has always been a bipartisan effort. 

• All of the nation’s major nutrition programs were created on a bipartisan basis, and the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorization was a bipartisan exercise that maintained and improved these programs. 
• We urge Congress to pass a Farm Bill that honors this bipartisan history while strengthening and protecting valuable investments in hunger-fighting programs for Texas and all Americans.​​​​​​​

SNAP is the nation’s most effective tool for fighting hunger. 

• While Texas food banks work tirelessly to provide emergency hunger relief to our neighbors in need, the charitable food system cannot solve hunger alone. 
• SNAP is our nation’s largest anti-hunger program, providing food to around 40 million recipients facing food insecurity. 
• For every meal provided by the charitable food system, SNAP provides nine. 
• SNAP should not be used as a bargaining chip to reduce the federal budget or force families into impossible choices.
• We urge Congress to protect and strengthen SNAP in the 2023 Farm Bill. 

SNAP already has strict eligibility and work requirements.

• More than two-thirds of Americans participating in SNAP are children, seniors, or people with disabilities who are not expected to work. Of those remaining, 74 percent are employed within a year of receiving SNAP. Most SNAP participants who can work, do. 
• The SNAP program has been shown to stimulate economic growth, improve academic outcomes, and improve health outcomes.  
• If we want to help SNAP participants access good jobs, then Congress must remove barriers to financial security such as program restrictions that penalize participants for owning a reliable car or going back to college.

End of emergency SNAP allotments is increasing the need in Texas. 

• This March, COVID-era emergency SNAP allotments ended, costing the average Texas SNAP household $212 in monthly food assistance. At the same time, grocery prices in Texas rose more than 18% last year and have remained high.
• Food banks were already seeing an increase in need due to inflation, and now lines are growing longer due to the end of pandemic-era aid. 
• Texans cannot afford any more cuts to their SNAP benefits. Congress members must work together to strengthen the program.

​​​​​​​Food banks do the heavy lifting when SNAP cannot.

• SNAP only reaches 73% of eligible Texans, and one-third of food insecure Texans are income-ineligible for SNAP. 
• During periods of food insecurity, these families must rely on a safety net below the major federal programs in the form of food banks and other charitable food providers.

TEFAP is the backbone of the charitable food system. 

• TEFAP provides nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, and milk, to ensure food banks can help families facing hunger put food on the table.
• While food banks work tirelessly to secure charitable food donations and purchase food, food banks would not be able to meet the demand for emergency hunger relief without USDA foods, including TEFAP. 
• TEFAP helped 193 food banks in the Feeding America food bank network distribute 1.7 billion meals to neighbors in need last year. 
• In 2020, 3 billion of the 6.6 billion pounds of food Feeding America network food banks distributed were provided by USDA foods through TEFAP. Unfortunately USDA foods decreased by 30% in 2021, with food banks only receiving 2 billion pounds through USDA foods and TEFAP in 2021.
• We urge Congress to strengthen TEFAP in the 2023 Farm Bill to ensure farmers and food banks can continue to provide U.S.-grown foods to our neighbors in need.