By Margarette Purvis
Dec. 12, 2019, 11:00 a.m. ET
Todd Heisler/The New York Times

“I run a food bank and I know no amount of charity will make up for this cruel policy.”
–Margarette Purvis, President and CEO

On the eve of the Trump administration’s announcement of a new rule that could eliminate benefits for nearly 700,000 people, I was at an event for a national faith-based hunger charity, surrounded by people who work to help Americans in need. Exhausted and disappointed by this latest assault on the low-income people we serve, we shared our frustration with the administration’s use of the term “able-bodied” to describe who will be affected to obscure what the rule really is: cruelty directed at Americans living in poverty.

The rule, which will take effect in April, makes it more difficult for states, even those that have economically distressed areas where jobs are scarce, to waive a requirement that “able-bodied” adults without dependents work at least 20 hours a week to keep their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly known as food stamps).

It will strip 6.2 billion meals from Americans over the next decade. It took Food Bank for New York City nearly 35 years to deliver one billion meals to our neighbors in need. There is no amount of generosity by corporate or traditional philanthropy to any charity that will make up for this loss caused by policy.

You can help Food Bank prepare for the increased need by making a donation today.

Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/opinion/trump-snap-food-stamps.html