For Immediate Release: Dec. 12, 2018

Contact: Melissa Chadburn, [email protected]

Farm Bill passes in Senate and House that protects SNAP from harmful cuts

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House and Senate have passed a Farm Bill that protects the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from harmful cuts included in the original version of the House bill, which would have caused more than one million households with two million people to lose benefits or have them reduced.

The passage represents a major win for millions of families who rely on SNAP to help put food on the table.  Grassroots community groups joined with the anti-hunger community to demand that Congress reject the harmful provisions in the bill originally supported by the GOP-led House and protect our country’s most effective anti-hunger program. Over the last few months, grassroots leaders held a series of actions throughout the Farm Bill reauthorization process, calling and visiting their Congressional representatives, sharing their stories and  demanding members vote for a Farm Bill that helps families – not penalizes them.

The House voted 369-47 Wednesday in favor of the bill, while the Senate voted 87-13  to approve passage the day before. Community Change Action and our grassroots partners applaud the Congressional leaders who listened to struggling Americans and passed a bill that doesn’t make it harder for them to survive. We look forward to continuing to fight for an expanded safety net that so we are all able to put food on the table and access to health care.

“Every American should be able to put enough food on the table for themselves and their families,” said Community Change Action president Dorian Warren. “Today represents an incredible win for them and the grassroots organizations that worked so hard to ensure the passage of a fair Farm Bill. When we come together to demand life-saving resources —it works. Americans are sick and tired of the constant threats to cut our basic necessities, like food and health care, and we will continue to fight so everyone has enough to thrive.”

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Community Change Action is a national organization that builds the power of low-income people of color to fight for a society where everyone can thrive.