"Congress revamps the rules for the agriculture and food industry every five years, but this year has adjourned until after the election without approving a new farm bill, even though the current bill is set to expire just days from now. The bill stalled on a contentious sticking point: federal funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the program commonly known as food stamps. The Senate has proposed $4.5 billion in cuts over the next decade to this social service, and the House about quadruple that amount. The large disparity between the two proposals has kept a final farm bill from the floor.
In 2009, the Mission ranked third among city districts in the amount of food supplements received from local food banks. A drop in funding may force programs like CalFresh to change their eligibility rules, possibly making it more difficult to qualify for assistance.
Food bank and SNAP advocates say the proposed funding cuts would devastate a system that is already underfunded. Recently the San Francisco Food Security Task Force wrote a letter urging Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi to reconsider cuts to the program at any level."
Read the rest at Mission Local.
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