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Action Needed: Tell the Trump Administration Don't Cut Food Assistance for Older Adults
The Trump Administration recently
proposed new, misguided, rules for SNAP/CalFresh.
If enacted, USDA estimates the rule would cut 3.1 million people off of SNAP. In California, that would mean 230,000 or more low-income households would lose access to CalFresh.
These cuts would fall disproportionately on households with older adults (age 60+).
More than 600,000 SNAP households with members over age 60 (some 13.2 percent of all SNAP households with seniors) would be cut from SNAP food assistance, according to USDA's estimates of the effect of the proposed rule. This represents more than one-third of the 1.7 million households the Administration estimates would lose SNAP.
Research indicates that food-insecure seniors have less nutritious diets, have worse health outcomes, and are at higher risk for depression than food-secure seniors. Compared to other adult age groups, seniors are particularly vulnerable to the health consequences of food insecurity.
For these seniors, SNAP/CalFresh plays an important role. While it provides a modest benefit, just $125 a month on average for households with members age 60 or older, it enables them to meet their nutrition needs and better afford other basic needs like housing, transportation, and medications.
The 2018 Farm Bill, passed on a bipartisan vote last December, explicitly rejected similar proposed changes. This new proposal is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to circumvent Congress to implement policies that hurt low-income Americans struggling to make ends meet. It is especially appalling that this latest proposal would harm vulnerable older adults. Please join us in telling the Administration to withdraw this harmful proposal and take their #HandsOffSNAP
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Take Action Today! Your Voice is Needed to Protect Vital Food Assistance for Older Californians Struggling to Make Ends Meet
1) Submit public comments in opposition to the proposed rule.
CFPA has drafted CA-specific model comments that you can customize to your organization's specific mission, geographic region, and population served. We have also provided model comments specific to the impact on older adults enrolled in CalFresh through Categorical Eligibility. Please also feel free draft your own comments.
Comments must be submitted by Monday, September 23rd to be counted.
- Senior-specific template comments doc
- General template comments doc
You can submit your comments directly to the Federal Register, or through the online comment portal set up by our partners at the Food Research & Action Center.
2) Learn more about Categorical Eligibility and who it helps.
Read our California partners' joint statement on the proposed rule to cut off benefits from tens of thousands of Californians struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table.
3) Please stay tuned for updates on how you can help protect SNAP/CalFresh.
CFPA will be sending out calls to action each week leading up to the comment due date of September 23rd. Each week will focus on a different population that would be harmed by the proposed rule. Make sure you don't miss any updates by signing up for our Action Alerts
Questions?
Contact Jared Call
jared@cfpa.net
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