When Kamaria Carnes was 20, and in college, she was like most students around her; determined, smart, and for the first time, completely independent. College itself was very expensive, let alone the books and supplies she has to buy. Student loans and dues were piling up, which is not unusual for a college student. Fortunately, Carnes discovered she was eligible for food stamps, and with the help of her friend’s mom, she got accepted and started using food stamps. “The food stamps allowed me to be more independent,” she exclaims. “Food stamps gave me more wiggle room, and also the chance to buy healthy produce.” Carnes was one of the food stamp users that was supported by SNAP, and it improved her food budgets, but it also wasn’t mandatory for her. Many citizens heavily rely on the food stamps, and with the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill, they will have barely enough money to get through the month. The 2014 Farm Bill was placed to improve farms and their produce, but in order to do this, the U.S. government decided to majorly cut the SNAP (or food stamp) organization, and many people are upset with the effect of the Farm Bill. The U.S. Government should reinstate the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill, that cuts the SNAP budgets, because it cuts many U.S. citizens food budgets, it affects the hungry children depending on food stamps, and more people will have to rely on unhealthy foods.
One of the most important reasons the U.S. government should reinstate the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill is that it hugely cuts the citizens’ food stamp budget, which is critical to many people. San Francisco is one of the states that will have a big cut, and one resident, Teri Olle is very concerned about the cuts. Teri Olle is a member of the San Francisco Food Security Task Force and the Associate Director of Policy & Advocacy for the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks. In an article about her, it says, “Olle estimates 50,000 eligible households could see a $90 a month cut if Congress adopts recent proposed reductions in federal funding to nutrition assistance programs over the next decade. The average San Francisco household receives $250 a month” (Naudziunas). This means that many San Franciscans who completely rely on food stamps will only receive $160 a month for their entire family. These cuts will leave many people with close to nothing. If the government reinstates the Farm Bill, these people can receive the full amount of money that they deserve. The people of San Francisco and the other states need this money to support them. Without it, they can barely afford enough meals to survive. Their lives depend on these food stamps. Why would we take these resources away from them? If we do nothing about this Farm Bill, the SNAP organization will also have a lot of trouble recovering and providing food stamps for everyone. Kathy Jackson, who is the chief of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, is discussing how the Farm Bill negatively affects SNAP. She exclaims, “‘There’s no way in the world that the food bank can make up for the cuts we’re seeing. I wish we could’” (Boyer). Many members of SNAP are concerned, because with this Farm Bill, they may never be able to fix their budget ever again. SNAP can only get it’s full budget if the government reinstates the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill. Otherwise, citizens will not only be facing a huge cut, they will never get the entire budget again. Imagine if you’re a citizen, that barely gets by, and all of the sudden, your budget gets a major cut, and it will never be restored. Everyone who is in that situation will now, and forever, face huge difficulties.
Another crucial reason the U.S. government should reinstate the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill is that children in poverty will be even hungrier, and will have a smaller chance of surviving. In an article about the Farm Bill and all the negative effects on poor children, they wrote about a journalist, Sasha Abramsky, who looked further into the effect of the Farm Bill on children. She writes, “‘22% of children in America live in poverty -- a number far higher than that in any other peer nation. More than 47 million Americans avoid hunger only because of the existence of the federal food stamp program’” (Stoehr). This clearly shows that starving, poor children heavily depend on the food stamps, and without them, they are lost. The U.S. government should reinstate the 2014 Farm Bill, because, if they don’t, millions of children will have no source of food and will likely die. This Farm Bill may seem like a small deal, something no one has heard of, another random bill passed by the government, but to these kids, this is a huge deal. For many of them, it is even life or death. This Farm Bill has the power to kill thousands, no, millions of kids. In another article, the authors really dig deep into what effects on children the Farm Bill will have. The article, “SNAP Cuts Will Affect Millions of Children, Seniors, and People With Disabilities” states, “Nationally, more than 21 million children — that is, more than 1 in 4 of all children — live in a household that receives SNAP. At least a quarter of children receive SNAP benefits in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia; in some states, this figure is more than 40 percent. November’s SNAP cut for households with children will total $3.5 billion in the remaining 11 months of fiscal year 2014” (Rosenbaum and Keith-Jennings). This shows that many poor children need these food stamps to live, and the food stamps for them are being largely cut. These children need the food stamps to eat enough and a good amount. Without the full budget, they can no longer eat as much, which is horrible and wrong. No kid wants to live this way- starving, just wanting some food. With the food stamp cuts, the money they had for food goes down a lot, and they will get even more hungry. Did you know that with this cut, children and their families get the equivalent of less than $1.40 per meal? If you don’t have other money to back you up, how can you survive of one dollar meals every day?
The last reason (that is often not thought about) the U.S. government should reinstate the 2014 U.S. Farm Bills is that more people will have to depend on cheaper, less healthy foods, causing obesity. In an article about the cuts on food stamps, they mention how people will have to resort to unhealthy foods. The article reads, “And Ash of the SF-Marin Food bank says some families that depend on food stamps will have to purchase fewer fresh fruits and vegetables. ‘It’s not necessarily intuitive that there would be a quality change for the food that people will be eating, but it really works out that way,’ he said. ‘When you’re shopping on a really, really tight budget, you don’t tend to go to the produce aisles or the dairy aisle — you go toward the processed food aisle, where the cost per calorie is the cheapest” (Boyer). This communicates that, because of these food stamp cuts, people will have to start depending on the cheap, fake products, and that is one of the main reasons that leads to obesity. Imagine you are someone that only receives about a dollar and a half to feed yourself, and you don’t have any other way to pay for your food. Will you head for the two tomatoes you can afford with the money, or will you look for the Lunchable Pizza option that cost the same price? People that have to make these choices don’t want to choose the less healthy option- they don’t have any other choice. If the government reinstates the Farm Bill, these citizens will have the chance to start making that choice, and will have an option. In an additional text, Chris Kardish explains how the Farm Bill will cause many food stamp users to have to depend on junk foods that are cheap. He then pulls a quote from the assistant community relations director with a city-wide public health campaign called Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Her name is Anne Ayella, and she says, “‘It’s going to affect people making healthy choices, be it at corner stores, farmers’ markets or healthy grocery stores,’ she said. ‘If they’re going to be 21 meals down [a month] you can be sure to stretch it instead of getting produce and lean cuts of meat’” (How the Farm Bill Could Encourage Unhealthy Eating for Food Stamp Users). This means that the people who already have a small food budget will not be able to afford the healthy, organic foods. This could be anyone from Kamaria Carnes, who used food stamps mostly for healthy foods, or someone who can barely afford their instant dinner, let alone expensive, organic fruits and vegetables. America already has a huge obesity problem (more than 70% of adults in America), and this Farm Bill will do nothing but make this situation worse. The best way for the government to improve the situation is to give citizens more money for healthy foods through food stamps, by reinstating the Farm Bill.
Many people believe that this Farm Bill is a good installation because the Farm Bill will contribute money to outdoor recreation. In “A Farm Bill Will Grow Our Economy While Protecting the Environment,” they list all the ways the Farm Bill is going to help the environment. One claim they make is, “[United States Department of Agriculture are] also supporting outdoor recreation for millions of American sportsmen. From hunting and fishing, to camping and hiking, these outdoor activities add more than $640 billion to our economy every year” (Vilsack and Sutley). They mean that the Farm Bill contribute a lot of money to outdoor recreation, so many people can enjoy more outdoor activities. People really like to participate in outdoor activities and are excited that there’s now a bigger budget for these activities that the Farm Bill will provide. However, they don’t realize that their outdoor activities are not as important as feeding the poor. So many people will lose their food stamp budget. In an article about the Farm Bill cuts on SNAP, it tells us that “850,000 households across the country are set to lose an average of $90 per month in food stamp benefits” (Resnikoff). This is the statistic of the huge cut that citizens are facing. How is providing more fishing for rich people more important than feeding those who are on the verge of nothing?! Lots of people are ignorant of the fact that people’s lives depend on the food stamps, and think that, as long as they get their outdoor recreations, their lives don’t matter. The United States of America is supposed to be where people support and help each other. Who is being supported if we take money from the poor’s food supplies, and hand it over to the rich’s activities. These activities will not save lives or feed anybody, so why is this one of our priorities, that is more important than food stamps.
One of the main reasons the U.S. government passed the Farm Bill, and wouldn’t reinstate it, is that the Farm Bill will provide money to farmers and to grow crops. In an article about all the positive things the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill will do, they state, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture works directly with farmers and ranchers to strengthen our nation’s soil and water resources. USDA has partnered with more than half a million farmers, ranchers and landowners on these conservation projects since 2009 – a record number” (Vilsack and Sutley). This communicates that the USDA works with farmers to improve their produce. The Farm Bill is helping farmers improve and is a huge help to them and their crops. On the other hand, what is the point of giving money to the crops, if almost 50 million people now can’t afford these products. According to “States with the Most People on Food Stamps,” an article discussing the countries with the most SNAP users, it states, “To be eligible, a household has to earn a gross income amount that's less than 130% of the poverty level, or a net income amount (gross income minus deductions) that's less than 100% of the poverty level for their family size” (Rawes). This shows that all of the food stamp users are under the poverty line, and need the resources from SNAP to feed themselves and their families. This families and individuals, 50 million of them, need food stamps, and can barely afford the expensive crops. Shouldn’t we care for the people before we care for their food? Without the food stamps, people can’t afford the produce we’re funding. Why are we funding these crops, although 50 million people can only afford an avocados with the new cuts? First we need to support the people financially, and then we can fund produce.
The U.S. Government should reinstate the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill, that cuts the SNAP budgets, because it cuts many U.S. citizens food budgets, it affects the hungry children depending on food stamps, and more people will have to rely on unhealthy foods. Food is clearly a crucial element to our survival, and with only a little bit of food, people start to shut down and struggle greatly. Children need to food to do well in school, and adults need food to thrive at work. No matter what, we depend on food, and this Farm Bill is cutting this important resource, and instead of improving our economy, the people whose food stamps have been cut can not work well, and will not contribute as much to our economy. If America wants their economy to grow, we need to reinstate the Farm Bill, and provide people with the food budget they need to flourish. The best way to do this is to not necessarily reinstate the entire Farm Bill, but to at least reestablish the cuts on SNAP. On the diagram, it shows that a huge chunk, 67%, of the cuts were from food stamps. There are so many different, unnecessary organizations and companies that the government funds. From funding towards insane organizations, to too much funds for an organization, there is enough money to replace the cuts on SNAP. If we want our economy to grow, and we want the best for our citizens, we will reinstate the food stamp cuts from the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill.
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