NWLC, MomsRising, & FRAC Lead Other Gender Justice Groups in Pushing to Strengthen & Expand SNAP Benefits in Farm Bill
Letter Underscores Importance of SNAP for Women; Cites Recent NWLC Data Showing Women Make Up Majority of SNAP Recipients
Washington, DC – Today, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), MomsRising, and the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) led 259 state and national groups in calling on Congressional leaders to protect and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in this year’s Farm Bill.
“SNAP is our nation’s bedrock nutrition and anti-hunger program, helping millions of women, LGBTQI+ people, and their families around the country to put food on the table and promoting health by supporting families in affording a nutritious diet,” the groups wrote.
The letter continued, “Research shows that SNAP leads to improved health outcomes for families, as well as improved education, economic security, and other positive outcomes for children who grow up in families with low incomes.”
The letter cites recent data from NWLC that underscores the importance of SNAP benefits for women, people of color, LGBTQI+ people, and people with disabilities:
- From October 2019 to February 2020, women made up 63 percent of adult SNAP recipients.
- About one in three non-elderly adult SNAP recipients was a woman of color in 2020.
- From June 2020 through September 2020, 64 percent of SNAP households with children were headed by a single adult, 92 percent of which were headed by women.
- In 2020, 29 percent of LGBTQ women and 28 percent of nonbinary/genderqueer individuals reported that they, their partner, or their children received SNAP benefits in the past year.
- In 2015, SNAP served over 11 million people with disabilities.
In this same data analysis, NWLC also found that SNAP moved about 2.8 million people out of poverty as measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure in 2021, including nearly 1.2 million women — 316,000 of whom are Black, 293,000 of whom are Latina, 46,000 of whom are Asian, and 500,000 of whom are white, non-Hispanic.
The letter also urges Congressional leaders to use the Farm Bill to strengthen economic security for families by improving access to child care and public health, particularly for families in rural areas.
The letter concluded, “[T]he Farm Bill is an opportunity to close equity gaps and invest in women, LGBTQI+ people, and their families by protecting and strengthening SNAP, improving access to child care, and increasing funding for rural hospitals. We urge you to prioritize these policies in the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization.”
To read the full letter, click here.