The Hispanic Federation, the Coalition for Food Security, and a large number of allied organizations urged Congress to end discrimination against Puerto Rico and the territories for providing the necessary federal nutritional assistance for low-income families. In letters sent to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, advocates called on Congress to take steps to provide equitable funds to the 1.6 million Americans in Puerto Rico who experience food insecurity.
Last month, the Biden administration approved the largest increase in food assistance benefits in the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). but these benefits did not include Puerto Rico and other territories. Hispanic Federation applauds this change as a step in providing basic nutrition and protecting citizens from food insecurity, but urges Congress and the administration to prioritize benefits equitably for all Americans no matter where they live. .
With the new TFP calculation, the maximum SNAP benefit will now increase by 21 percent (plus inflation), and the average benefit will increase by about $ 1.20 per person per day, according to the USDA. However, residents of Puerto Rico and other territories will not receive the same level of nutritional support due to their exclusion from SNAP benefits. Unlike SNAP, Puerto Rico’s block grant has a fixed amount limit each year and does not automatically increase in times of great need, forcing local residents to wait hungry when emergencies arise and needs return. even bigger.
“Children will not learn on an empty stomach and those living with this food insecurity face consequences for health, well-being and development. Under the new plan, an additional $ 463,800,000 will be allocated to the nutrition program. Puerto Rico (NAP), which will raise the total global grant to $ 2.5 billion.While this is good news, it does not yet equate nutritional assistance in Puerto Rico to the same level as nutritional assistance in the 50 states. or other territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico’s benefits will remain 25 to 30 percent lower than SNAP benefits provided in the U.S. continental states It’s time to end discrimination against those who live and working in the territories of the U.S. creating a path to make the transition from block grants limited to SNAP. We need to end discrimination based on residency and put the interests of children and families first, “he said. to say Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of Hispanic Federation (Globally).
“It’s a shame we have to keep defending our basic rights before the federal government. Our children and grandparents are going to go to bed hungry while Congress and the Biden Administration debate whether the cost of fair treatment of port- It is too expensive to end excuses and immediately include Puerto Rico and other territories excluded from the SNAP program with the Closing the Meal Gap Act and pass the 2021 Territorial Equity Act to achieve parity. in other federal benefit programs, and President Biden must stop defending discrimination against Puerto Ricans in the United States Supreme Court, “he added. Charlotte Gossett Navarro, principal director of Hispanic Federation in Puerto Rico.
The USDA uses the “Thrifty Food Plan” (TFP), developed in the 1930s during the Great Depression, to calculate the benefits of SNAP, which was long thought to be inadequate to meet basic nutritional needs. For nearly 30 years, U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico have been excluded from SNAP and instead have been limited to nutrition assistance programs with block subsidies with limits that exacerbate food insecurity.