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We heartily agree with your editorial, “Maryland must fill the SNAP void” (March 10). While we applaud programmatic suggestions to help fill the void — additional food bank donations, utilizing federal school meal programs, and replacing the SNAP benefits stolen by cybercriminals — these efforts still aren’t enough to make up for the loss of benefits boosts and combat the effects of the hunger cliff our state is experiencing.
Seeing SNAP benefits going from $280 to $23 a month is not just a reduction, it’s a catastrophe for tens of thousands of households across the state. Although Maryland won’t be able to make up for the billion-dollar per year difference between pre-pandemic and pandemic benefit emergency allotments, it can soften the blow.
We know that additional SNAP benefits add an important economic boost to our entire food system. It’s not just Marylanders with low incomes who benefit, it’s our grocery stores, farmers markets, food processors and farmers.
In addition to offering all students school meals at no charge to their families, Maryland should act to provide a minimum SNAP benefit, above and beyond the federal minimum. These interventions will go a long way in fueling the health and well-being of our most vulnerable residents.
Action is needed now. Maryland can afford to do better. In fact, we can’t afford not to.
— Michael J. Wilson, Baltimore
The writer is director of Maryland Hunger Solutions.
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