Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger: August 2010

Last Thursday, the US Senate passed a $14 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps, called 3SquaresVT in Vermont) in order to pay for two major bills, including a state fiscal aid bill aimed at saving the jobs of an estimated 300,00 public employees, and the Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, a bill designed to fund and authorize programs such as school meals for the next five years. However, both bills cut SNAP benefits in order to pay for implementation. The Hunger Free Kids Act does provide some modest gains for child nutrition programs, but all of us at the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger are deeply disappointed to see cuts to another vital nutrition program to pay for these improvements. The benefit cut, scheduled to go into effect as early as 2013, is worth roughly $50 for a family of three.

I decided to investigate what this $50 cut would mean for a Vermont family. On Monday, I went to a local grocery store with my colleague Rebecca O'Reilly. Check out the video below to see what we found:

Anti-hunger advocates are now urging the House of Representatives to find an alternative source of funding for Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Vermonters can contact Congressman Welch's office to make your voice heard.