Adequate, accessible food assistance would fight hunger in North Carolina

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a lifeline for the 1 in 7 North Carolinians who don’t earn what it takes to buy enough food to feed their families.¹Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, et al. September 2020. Household Food Security in the United States in 2019, USDA. Accessed at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/99282/err-275.pdf?v=3852.9

SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger program to support families during the continued pandemic recovery and beyond. That’s why it’s critical that SNAP keeps up with rising food costs and is made more accessible for everyone in NC who needs it to make ends meet.

ACCESSIBLE FOOD ASSISTANCE WOULD:

• Allow adults who cannot find work to continue to receive food assistance²Kennedy, Brian. April 2019. Time-limit waivers keep food on the table in tough times, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BTC-BRIEF-abawd-time-limit-april-2019.pdf
• Allow people returning from incarceration to receive the food assistance they need to get their lives back on track and avoid recidivism³Fair Chance Project, 2022. Felony SNAP Ban: A Second Chance at Food Security, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/felonysnapban/
• Strengthen the SNAP Employment & Training program in NC so more SNAP recipients from economically depressed areas can receive the skills and training they need to find secure, living-wage jobs⁴US Department of Agriculture, SNAP to Skills State Highlights for North Carolina. Accessed at: https://snaptoskills.fns.usda.gov/state-highlights/state-highlights-north-carolina#:~:text=North%20Carolina%20operates%20a%20voluntary,the%20pipeline%20for%20FFY%202020.

BENEFITS:

• Improve food equity for the 18% of Black adults and 31% of Latine adults who don’t get enough to eat, compared to 12% of all adults in NC⁵US Department of Agriculture, SNAP to Skills State Highlights for North Carolina. Accessed at: https://snaptoskills.fns.usda.gov/state-highlights/state-highlights-north-carolina#:~:text=North%20Carolina%20operates%20a%20voluntary,the%20pipeline%20for%20FFY%202020.
• Put more money into local communities as every dollar in new SNAP benefits increases Gross Domestic Product by about $1.50 during a weak economy⁶Patrick Canning and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison, “Quantifying the Impact of SNAP Benefits on the U.S. Economy and Jobs,” USDA, Economic Research Service, July 18, 2019, https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/july/quantifying-the-impact-of-snap-benefits-on-the-us-economy-and-jobs/.

WHY NOW?

North Carolina is one of the least food-secure states in the country. Unfortunately, too many NC families aren’t able to put enough food on the table every day for reasons outside of their control, like rising food prices, inadequate wages, and rules that block people from accessing food assistance.

• 560,000: NC households that were food insecure before the pandemic⁷Atwa, Heba. July 2021. An already food-insecure NC sees rise in hunger, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/publications/an-already-food-insecure-nc-sees-hunger-on-the-rise/#_ftn2
• 9th: NC’s ranking for food insecurity, making it one of the worst in the country⁸Atwa, Heba. July 2021. An already food-insecure NC sees rise in hunger, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/publications/an-already-food-insecure-nc-sees-hunger-on-the-rise/#_ftn2
• 10% How much more expensive food is than a year ago in the South⁹BTC Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Food at Home in the South, 2012 to 2022, Tables CUUR0300SAF11,CUUS0300SAF11
• 15%: How much more expensive food is than before the pandemic¹⁰BTC Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Food at Home in the South, 2012 to 2022, Tables CUUR0300SAF11,CUUS0300SAF11

No matter what we look like or where we come from, we all deserve to have enough to eat. Our government should ensure that rising food prices and rules that block people from food assistance don’t prevent us all from having enough healthy food on the table.

Footnotes

• 1
  Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, et al. September 2020. Household Food Security in the United States in 2019, USDA. Accessed at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/99282/err-275.pdf?v=3852.9
• 2
  Kennedy, Brian. April 2019. Time-limit waivers keep food on the table in tough times, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BTC-BRIEF-abawd-time-limit-april-2019.pdf
• 3
  Fair Chance Project, 2022. Felony SNAP Ban: A Second Chance at Food Security, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/felonysnapban/
• 4
  US Department of Agriculture, SNAP to Skills State Highlights for North Carolina. Accessed at: https://snaptoskills.fns.usda.gov/state-highlights/state-highlights-north-carolina#:~:text=North%20Carolina%20operates%20a%20voluntary,the%20pipeline%20for%20FFY%202020.
• 5
  US Department of Agriculture, SNAP to Skills State Highlights for North Carolina. Accessed at: https://snaptoskills.fns.usda.gov/state-highlights/state-highlights-north-carolina#:~:text=North%20Carolina%20operates%20a%20voluntary,the%20pipeline%20for%20FFY%202020.
• 6
  Patrick Canning and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison, “Quantifying the Impact of SNAP Benefits on the U.S. Economy and Jobs,” USDA, Economic Research Service, July 18, 2019, https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/july/quantifying-the-impact-of-snap-benefits-on-the-us-economy-and-jobs/.
• 7
  Atwa, Heba. July 2021. An already food-insecure NC sees rise in hunger, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/publications/an-already-food-insecure-nc-sees-hunger-on-the-rise/#_ftn2
• 8
  Atwa, Heba. July 2021. An already food-insecure NC sees rise in hunger, NC Justice Center. Accessed at: https://www.ncjustice.org/publications/an-already-food-insecure-nc-sees-hunger-on-the-rise/#_ftn2
• 9
  BTC Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Food at Home in the South, 2012 to 2022, Tables CUUR0300SAF11,CUUS0300SAF11
• 10
  BTC Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Food at Home in the South, 2012 to 2022, Tables CUUR0300SAF11,CUUS0300SAF11