Action Alert: Urge Arizona Law Makers to Support the Thrifty Food Plan!
The Farm Bill has made slow but steady progress through the halls of congress this year. To read our updates and break downs of this critical hunger-related policy package, click here!
In our update from July, we shared about the latest Farm Bill drafts to come out in the House and Senate. Both drafts held promise, but including one glaring issue: limitations to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP).
The TFP is used to calculate the amount dispersed through SNAP assistance. It is calculated based on food costs and nutritional requirements, estimating the amount of money a family will need to eat a healthy, but cheap, set of meals. Currently, the plan is adjusted for inflation, as well as to reflect updated nutrition science. The latest draft from the House would drastically limit the TFP’s ability to adjust and calculate accurate monetary needs. Over the next 10 years, these limitations would result in a $30 billion cut to the SNAP program.
The TFP changes are a small part of a very large package of bills, so most lawmakers aren’t very familiar with what the program is or how disasterous these changes could be for families in need. August recess is a great chance to help educate your lawmakers on its importance!
This week, your lawmakers are home from Washington, enjoying their August recess. This is a great time to speak to lawmakers and educate them about the issues we care about. We urge you to contact your congressional representative and advocate for the preservation of the thrifty food plan!
To find your congressional representative, click here.
Sample email:
Dear Rep ___,
I am a constituent of yours from District _, living in_____. I would like to take some of your time to write to you about the pending Farm Bill and the Thrifty Food Plan.
I am chiefly concerned about the Farm Bill’s ability to provide assistance to Americans struggling with hunger and food insecurity. I was pleased to see the various drafts that have been proposed in the House and Senate this summer, but I am worried about the proposed restrictions to the Thrifty Food Plan in the latest version of this package. The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) is used to estimate the cost of a healthy, nutritionally sound diet on a limited food budget. This estimate then determines the amount allotted to participants in the SNAP program.
Currently, the TFP is adjusted based on food prices, updated nutritional science, inflation, and a host of other factors that influence our understanding of a healthy diet and the types of foods Americans purchase. As it is written, this Farm Bill draft would limit what factors can be used to adjust the plan; the Thrifty Food Plan would only raise the base cost of a meal to keep up with inflation, and not for any other reason. The authors of this change estimate that it will result in a $30 billion cut to the SNAP program over the next decade.
In 98% of counties, SNAP benefits don’t actually cover the cost of a full meal, and more and more families are struggling to put food on the table. We should be increasing the supports available to hungry Americans, not reducing the program. This one small provision turns this Farm Bill into something that would do much more harm to our hungry neighbors.
I urge you to prioritize the protection of the Thrifty Food Plan after the August Recess ends and you return to Washington. I hope to see you vote for a version of the Farm Bill that preserves the SNAP program and offers assistance to hungry Americans.
Thank you so much for your time!
[Your Name]
