The budget reconciliation bill passing is a call to action.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is deeply disappointed by the passing of the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and the anticipated signing by the president. The bill includes the most catastrophic cuts to the safety net in history, including to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
We are gravely concerned about the impact this legislation will have on our neighbors in the one in five households across Chicago and Cook County experiencing food insecurity. By shifting burdensome program costs to states and adding stipulations that make it more difficult for people to qualify and continue receiving SNAP benefits, the new bill weakens a program that, to date, has been our nation’s most vital anti-hunger program.
It feels especially cruel that this bill is being passed at a time when neighbors are already coping with elevated food prices and living costs, and when food banks like the Greater Chicago Food Depository and our partners are serving record numbers of guests.
Our experience tells us that lines at pantries will get exponentially longer and an unconscionable number of our neighbors – including children, seniors and veterans – will go hungry. This need was avoidable. This hunger was a deliberate decision.
Our neighbors need us now more than ever, and we remain unwavering in our belief that food is a basic human right. The Greater Chicago Food Depository stands ready to confront this emergency head-on, but we cannot bear this alone. We will need support from volunteers, donors, advocates and others who share our vision of a Chicago and Cook County where all our neighbors have access to the food they need to thrive. Our work just became that much more difficult, and together we will rise to meet this moment.
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