Congressional Attempts to Weaken Social Safety Net Put Latinos at Risk
Bread for the World released its annual analysis of hunger and poverty in the Latino community. The findings show that programs on the congressional chopping block, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), have prevented an increase in food insecurity in Latino households since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
“Latinos make up 16.9 percent of the U.S. population, yet one in four Latino families with children struggles to put food on the table. This is unacceptable,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “It is unconscionable that lawmakers would consider cutting programs that are essential to helping people provide for their families at a time when so many Americans continue to suffer the ongoing impacts of the recession.”
The number of Latinos in food-insecure households declined slightly between 2012 and 2013, due to programs such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and SNAP.
This analysis comes one day after Bread for the World Institute released the Hunger Report 2014: Ending Hunger in America,which highlights investment in human capital, job creation, and strengthening the social safety net as key steps toward ending hunger in America by 2030.
“Job creation and a focus on spurring economic growth will help many families climb out of poverty,” said Beckmann. “Immigration reform can help many Latino families, and other families, lift themselves out of hunger and bring us one step closer to becoming a country where no family worries about where its next meal will come from.”
Source: Bread for the World
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