Rep. David Scott, who represents the 13th U.S. Congressional District of Georgia, which includes South Cobb, sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging support for federal nutrition programs, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Scott is Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

The letter, addressed to Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, and ranking Republican member Kay Granger, said that the SNAP program had been a critical lifeline for more than 40 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We cannot rest easy,” wrote Scott. “The pandemic is still ongoing and even with rates remaining static, more than 10 percent of Americans – or 13.8 million households – have difficulty affording enough food for their families.”

“SNAP has been a critical lifeline for more than 40 million Americans during the pandemic.” the letter continued. “However, unlike federal social safety net programs, SNAP is reliant on the annual appropriations process, putting the program – and the millions of Americans it serves at risk during a shutdown or unexpected increase in participation. Therefore, I strongly support inclusion of the House passed […] ‘such sums’ appropriations for the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2022 in the final Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies bill.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website, “SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.”

The USDA website describes the TEFAP program as follows:

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. USDA provides 100% American-grown USDA Foods and administrative funds to states to operate TEFAP.

To read Rep. Scott’s letter to the Appropriations Committee, please follow this link.