O pinion
Leibman Continued from Page 17
richest country in the world,
face the indignity of hunger. But
charities alone cannot change
the situation — our government
must do its part, too.

The robust network of food
pantries, soup kitchens and
mobile sites operating across the
country today was created to
supplement government assis-
tance programs, not replace
them. Charitable programs were
never intended to meet the needs
of all those facing hunger. They
are neither structured nor funded
adequately to meet the scope of
hunger we are witnessing today.

Even before the pandemic,
the federal government spent
hundreds of billions of dollars
per year on food programs —
that only provided people with
about $1.40 per meal, or $4.20
a day, for food. The largest food
charity in the country, Feeding
America, has a total annual
budget of $2 billion — hardly
enough to match the resources
of the federal government. Now
the charitable food sector has
become overstretched, and some
food pantries are closing due
to COVID-19. Clearly, only the
federal government has the
resources and structure to meet
today’s needs.

SNAP is our country’s
most effective defense against
hunger. It provides modest yet
vital cash assistance to anyone
who meets its income and
asset eligibility limits. SNAP
dollars are often spent in local
communities, stimulating
the economy and supporting
businesses throughout the
food chain. In fact, econo-
mists estimate that during a
recession, every SNAP dollar
generates between $1.50 and
$1.80 in economic activity.

In recent years, support for
SNAP has become political
and partisan. During a recent
conversation I had with my
friend Rep. Jim McGovern, he
reflected on this unfortunate
shift. “We were on the way to
tackling the issue of hunger
in this country. Then for some
reason it became unfashionable
to help people who were strug-
gling to put food on the table,”
the Massachusetts Democrat
said. “Rather than finding
ways to help them, we started
finding ways to blame them.

All these false narratives began
to emerge that unfortunately
undercut a lot of the work that
was done in a bipartisan way.”
In the past two years,
since Congress finalized
and President Trump signed
the 2018 Farm Bill, we have
witnessed the Department of
Agriculture trying to undercut
the bipartisan decision to
preserve SNAP. Time and
again, the agency has issued
regulatory orders to limit
the flexibility of states and
drastically restrict benefits
for people who do not fit a
certain ideological narrative.

These administrative attacks
could not possibly be more out
of touch with the realities of
struggling Americans.

The new administration,
Congress and every policy-
maker must do what is necessary
to ensure that all Americans
can feed themselves and their
families. A COVID-19 relief bill
that prioritizes boosting SNAP
for all who need it cannot wait.

People cannot eat ideology or
rhetoric. We must not stand by
silently while political gridlock
leaves the most vulnerable
without the help they need. l
Abby J. Leibman is president
and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish
Response to Hunger. This piece
first appeared at JTA.org.

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MAM Continued from Page 16
at the kingdom’s consulate
in Istanbul. Reigning Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman
has been directly implicated in
ordering and seeking to cover
up the gangland-style killing.

The Saudi-led bombings
of rebel forces in Yemen
continues, with the Saudi-led
coalition implicated in war
crimes and other serious viola-
tions of international law.

Inside the kingdom, dissent
is punished mercilessly. There
is no transparency and no
accountability. Reports of
movie theaters being permitted
to open in the kingdom and the
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM trumpeting of notice that the
government will allow women
to drive is nothing more than
window dressing; it is certainly
not reform.

The U.S. government has
historically shown the kingdom
deference due to its vast oil
reserves, strategic location and
staggering wealth. Yet we have
long wondered whether such
close relations with the bad seed
of Abraham is in America’s
interests. President Trump
answered the question with
an unequivocal “yes,” turning
a blind eye to the murders,
genocide and human rights
abuses, and cozying up to the
royals willing to pay generously
for American weapons.

We hope the incoming
Biden administration will
be more circumspect, and
will make clear to the Saudis
that if they want to be our
trusted partner, they must
show respect for human life,
religious tolerance and simple
honesty. l
The Mid-Atlantic Media editorial
board is composed of media
owners and journalists from
Washington, D.C., Maryland and
Philadelphia. JEWISH EXPONENT
DECEMBER 3, 2020
27