Food Stamps Dry Up: Who’s To Blame?

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FEATURING FRANK TAMBORELLO - Citing the federal government shutdown as an excuse, President Donald Trump is allowing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to expire. This means about 40 million low income Americans nationwide will lose access to food stamps in November. 

Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture is falsely claiming in a banner at the top of its website, “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry.” 

Meanwhile, as states, counties, municipalities, and food pantries scramble to feed millions, advocates and activists declared Tuesday October 28 a SNAP Day of Action. 

Frank Tamborello is co-founder and executive director of Hunger Action Los Angeles, whose mission to end hunger and promote healthy eating in Los Angeles County. He spoke with Sonali Kolhatkar about what's at stake as food stamps dry up.

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:

Sonali Kolhatkar: First, let's talk about where there is money. We have 40-42 , million Americans relying on food stamps, which on average works out to less than $200 worth of vouchers that they can redeem for food at grocery stores, sometimes farmer's markets, et cetera. And that is going to get cut off in November. The government is claiming there's no money, but there are emergency funds that are available and that have traditionally, during shutdowns, been mobilized to ensure that there is no cut in funding. What is happening this time around? Why are people gonna lose food stamps in November unless Trump takes action? 

Frank Tamborello: So, as you mentioned there's a contingency fund. It's about $5 billion and a month of SNAP benefits for the country is about $9 billion. So, they could at least do a partial allotment for people. 

And besides that, we all know that especially this president is very proud of his ability to take executive actions. And so, there are probably numerous other avenues that could be taken to avoid people going hungry. But basically, a political game of chicken is being played and Trump is betting that people will blame the Democrats for the shutdown.

And you pointed out the banner on the USDA website, which is a clear violation of the Hatch Act. In other words, you're not supposed to use your political office for grandstanding in a partisan way, and that's exactly what's happening. So, it's not giving the full story of what the government shutdown is about.