Heading into the new year, state officials are continuing their fight against efforts to change federal laws surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Trump Administration announced plans to tighten the requirements to the program, known as SNAP, which Pennsylvania Food Bank official Amy Hill says is a critical part to the emergency food network.
“People will go hungry if SNAP goes away,” Hill said. “We will do the best we can to help people in an immediate crisis, but cutting SNAP and expecting food banks to cover the difference is not a long-term solution.”
The United States Department of Agriculture announced the action at the direction of President Donald Trump to restore the system to what Congress intended as assistance through difficult times. The change would save the Department of Agriculture about $5.5 billion over five years and cut benefits for roughly 688,000 SNAP recipients.
The new regulations are scheduled to begin in April this year.
