Another provision of the American Families Plan addresses a critical need the pandemic has further magnified. But it’s one Republicans have historically opposed: expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Whether this increase will survive will depend largely on bipartisan efforts to resolve the national tragedy of food insecurity. In the richest country in the world, too many children go to bed hungry every night.
SNAP, as the program describes itself, “provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.” The program has long played a part in feeding disadvantaged children. But with the number of hungry Americans skyrocketing as a result of COVID-19, food assistance has never been more important. Images of people waiting in miles-long car lines to receive food from local pantries to feed their families throughout the pandemic provide dramatic testimony to the s