A pallet of oats next to a row of empty shelves is shown inside the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s distribution center on Niantic Avenue in Providence.(Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
The news reminds us daily that our society is divided by politics, race, ethnicity, gender, and income. Despite these deep divisions – some with long historical roots – there are still beliefs that we all share.
Imagine that you are asked to respond to a survey with the following six statements. Would you disagree with any of them?
- In a country with great wealth and resources, like America, no one should go hungry.
- Good nutrition is essential for good health.
- Children can’t learn well when they’re hungry.
- Poor nutrition takes a toll on the health and wellbeing of senior adults.
- Our long-term investments in education, health care, and workforce development are bolstered when everyone has adequate food.
- The whole community benefits when no one goes hungry.
We have the opportunity to enact these common values in the Farm Bill, which is up for consideration by Congress. Along with supporting agriculture and farmers, the Farm Bill reauthorizes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Today, 144,000 Rhode Islanders — 14% of the state’s population — are enrolled in SNAP. They receive an average monthly benefit of $200 per person to shop for food.
But these benefits fall short because of the high price of food. Each month, SNAP recipients run out of benefits, run out of money, run out of food, and miss meals.
And more Rhode Islanders are eligible for SNAP than those 144,000 who are enrolled. In order for all 234,000 low-income Rhode Islanders to have three healthy meals a day, 256.2 million meals a year are needed, according to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s 2024 Status Report on Hunger. But this population is missing 42.2 million meals this year; 16% of the total needed. That is a 10 percentage point increase since 2019 when low-income residents missed 11.3 million meals, or 6% of what was needed.
In a country with great wealth and resources, like America, no one should go hungry.
Struggling Rhode Islanders are turning to food pantries and meal sites in record numbers to feed their families. The food bank’s statewide network of 147 member agencies serves more than 84,000 people each month, dramatically more than the 55,000 served monthly before the pandemic. In response to the high need, the governor and General Assembly allocated $800,000 to the food bank this year to acquire more food.
Congress must tackle this problem in the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal now. The most effective way to protect low-income families from hunger is to increase SNAP benefits to match the real cost of food. If Congress fails to act or actually reduces SNAP benefits, as has been proposed by the House Agriculture Committee, more meals will be missed and the lines at food pantries will grow even longer.
This Thanksgiving, we’re calling on Rhode Islanders to maintain strong support for the food bank and its member agencies. As an emergency food provider, we should be a safety net — not the only solution available to families in need. The state should be ready to increase the food bank’s allocation if federal SNAP benefits are cut. Because, for us, hunger is unacceptable.
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