Guest Blogger: Linda Stone
Senior Food Policy Coordinator at the Children's Alliance

On November 1, more than 1.1 million low-income people in Washington experienced a reduction in their food assistance benefits, when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, (formerly known as food stamps) expired. In this state, SNAP is known as the Basic Food Program.

In 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to strengthen the economy and ease hardship. Included in the bill was a modest boost in benefits to SNAP recipients. However, now more than 47 million SNAP recipients, including 22 million children saw a reduction in this basic need. This means for a family of three in Washington State, that cut will amount to $29 a month. This is a serious loss for families whose benefits, after this cut, will average less than $1.40 per person per meal.

The majority of households in Washington receiving Basic Food have either a child, an elder or persons with disabilities. In Washington, the cut will impact 256,000 households with children, and 234,000 households with seniors and people with disabilities. Veterans will also be affected by the cut. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzed Census data and determined that 51,600 Washington State veterans depend on the Basic Food Program.

“This small increase in Basic Food benefits has provided an important stepping stone for Washingtonians during the deep economic recession and long recovery, empowering them to keep food on the table as they seek employment and send their children off to school,” stated Tara Lee, Communications Director of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center. Tracy Flowers sees the impact of hunger every day in her Spokane child care center, A Bright Beginning.  Tracy and her staff care for 85 children, ages 4 weeks to 12 years. She says signs of hunger are most predominant among the 2- to 5-year-olds.

Image A woman checks in on her SNAP eligibility at the Washington State Department of Health and Social Services office in Seattle. Photo credit: Wonderlane

Children who are hungry “are unable to focus and less likely to self-regulate their behavior,” says Flowers. The children in her care “are confident knowing they won’t go hungry here,” but nutritious food is harder to obtain for parents in an economic crisis. “People who make cuts to food stamps don’t realize the extent of the damage they’re doing to children,” she says.

At 6.1 percent, the number of hungry families in Washington is significantly higher than the national rate. Our state ranks 15th out of all  50 states for hunger. The overall hunger rate is remains virtually unchanged since its peak of 6.2 percent in 2009-2011. The Children’s Alliance estimates that 400,000 children in Washington are at risk of hunger.

Image Photo credit: Paul Sableman

In addition to rejecting deeper cuts to Basic Food at the federal level, anti-hunger advocates want Washington State lawmakers to fully restore State Food Assistance (SFA) in the 2014 supplemental budget. SFA helps thousands of immigrant families put food on the table, yet lawmakers cut it by half in the 2012 legislative session. It is currently set at 25 percent less than the monthly SNAP benefit level.

“No child should go hungry here in Washington State,” says Jon Gould, deputy director of the Children’s Alliance. “Singling out immigrant families in hard times is simply not fair.”

You can find out more about The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of the federal SNAP cuts here.

Check out this SNAP one-pager from our partners at The Children's Alliance.

The Children's Alliance is also looking for organizations to sign onto a letter telling Congress that folks on SNAP are already receiving a major cut in benefits and that Congress should not add to this reduction by piling on cuts in the Farm Bill. Contact Linda Stone for details.