Statement by EdTrust Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement, Augustus Mays, on the 2024 Farm Bill

“Every day, more than 22 million households across the country depend on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to meet their nutritional needs. In one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, over 14 million children rely on SNAP benefits to mitigate food insecurity. Regrettably, language included in House Republicans’ 2024 Farm Bill discussion draft — the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 — threatens to take food out of the mouths of America’s most vulnerable children,” said Augustus Mays, vice president of Partnerships and Engagement at EdTrust.

“By including language preventing future adjustments to the Thrifty Food Plan, the foundation for determining SNAP benefits, the House Republican Farm Bill language would result in a nearly $30 billion cut to SNAP and other critical hunger-assistance programs — including Summer EBT and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) — over the next decade. Hunger and food insecurity have a devastating impact on students’ physical, mental, and academic well-being.

As EdTrust is committed to improving the education and lives of our nation’s most underserved students, including students of color and students from low-income backgrounds, we are deeply concerned with how these proposed cuts would harm students at the intersection of race and poverty. We urge members of the House Agriculture Committee to reject these harmful cuts during this week’s scheduled markup.”