Rep. Hultgren: Don't cut meals for kids

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, but it’s also about food and lots of it. With 2 million people in Illinois and 48 million nationwide having less on their tables this year, we should reflect on why that is.

On November 1, food assistance to families was cut, affecting 886,000 kids and 349,000 seniors in Illinois alone. In our land of plenty, we can do much, much better, but some in Congress, including Rep. Randy Hultgren, want to cut $40 billion MORE from food relief programs that include free school meals for low-income kids.

That’s morally wrong, but it’s also bad for the economy. Every $1 spent on food aid creates $1.70 in local economic activity — creating a ripple effect when the money is spent at local grocery stores. Illinois will lose $220 million because of the cuts in November, and we'll lose even more if deeper cuts are passed.

When kids go hungry, they struggle to learn, and when kids don’t learn, they struggle in life. Dropping out of school or not attending college, hurts their capacity to earn good wages and our workforce suffers. We already have a shortage of skilled workers in our country, and siphoning off even more talent from this pool will threaten our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.

It doesn’t have to be this way. For decades, lawmakers from both parties have supported the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). But with budget extremists driving much of the agenda in the House of Representatives, that bi-partisan support has vanished.

Those, like Congressman Randy Hultgren, who want to cut $40 billion more from food relief say that we need to trim back spending in order to address the deficit. But if that were the case, why wouldn’t we look elsewhere before cutting assistance to needy kids? There’s a bill in Congress that could raise upwards of $220 billion by closing loopholes that giant corporations like GE, Wells Fargo, and Apple use to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Most people don't value profits for corporations over meals for kids in need. That's why we need Rep. Hultgren to vote in line with our values instead of with the party line. We should be doing more to make sure every child in our community gets a fair shot in life — and that begins with enough food on the table.

Click here to sign a petition to Rep. Hultgren asking him to oppose further cuts to food relief programs.