Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Anti-Hunger Empowerment Act of 2019”.
Anti-Hunger Empowerment Act of 2019
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide greater access to the supplemental nutrition assistance program by reducing duplicative and burdensome administrative requirements, authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to award grants to certain community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups for the purpose of establishing and implementing a Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot Program for certain socially and economically disadvantaged populations, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
The Congress finds the following:
In 2014 the number of Americans facing hunger or food insecurity was 48,100,000, and 15,300,000 children lived in these households. 5,400,000 seniors ages 60 and up were also experiencing food hardship.
In August 2015 approximately 45,500,000 people participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). In fiscal year 2014 on a monthly average, 47,600,000 people participated in this program, about 15 percent of the United States population. SNAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are the largest nutrition assistance programs, and 61 percent of food-insecure households participated in 1 or more of the 3 programs.
Administrative burdens involved in securing supplemental nutrition assistance benefits are particularly burdensome for working families.
Each year tens of millions people in the United States, including children and seniors, are forced to rely on soup kitchens, food pantries, and other charitable feeding programs.
The charitable food distribution system in the United States would benefit from increased coordination and technical assistance.
Helping those who use feeding programs to move “beyond the soup kitchen”, by promoting the values of community, opportunity, and responsibility, is a national priority.