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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, No resident of Illinois should have to be
3food-insecure; and
 
4    WHEREAS, 1,932,580, or 1 in 7 residents of the State of
5Illinois are experiencing food insecurity, meaning they lack
6access to adequate nutritious food for a healthy lifestyle; and
 
7    WHEREAS, 684,960, or just over 1 in 5 children in the State
8of Illinois are experiencing food insecurity; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Food insecurity is experienced in every county in
10the State of Illinois; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Hunger increases health care costs, lowers
12workers' productivity, harms children's development, and
13diminishes children's educational performance; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Fighting hunger is a public-private partnership;
15in Illinois, a strong private network exists that has provided
161.4 million people in Illinois with more than 127 million
17pounds of food in 2010; however, private charity cannot do it
18alone and a strong federal hunger relief safety net is
19required; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
2(SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
3Infants, and Children (WIC), The Emergency Food Assistance
4Program (TEFAP), the Older Adult Congregate Dining and Home
5Delivered Meals, The Free and Reduced School Breakfast and
6Lunch Program, the Summer Feeding Supplemental Program (SFSP),
7the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the
8Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) are all important
9pieces to the federal food and nutrition safety net that
10require State engagement and support; and
 
11    WHEREAS, SNAP is the cornerstone of the nutrition safety
12net, with 2 million, or 1 in 6, Illinois residents enrolled in
13the program; just under half of those utilizing the program are
14children; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Any reduction in funding of or change in policy
16that seeks to exclude individuals from participating in the
17SNAP Program will increase the number of food-insecure people
18in Illinois; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Threats to the federal food and nutrition safety
20net, including SNAP, exist in both the reauthorization of the
21Farm Bill and the annual federal budget process; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Attempts to change State policy for federal food

 

 

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1and nutrition programs, including SNAP, can have harmful
2effects on the food insecure; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Maintaining the current model of 100% federal
4funding of SNAP assistance is essential to retaining the
5program's effectiveness in fighting hunger; and
 
6    WHEREAS, TEFAP is a means-tested federal program that
7provides food commodities at no cost to Illinoisans in need of
8short-term hunger relief through organizations like food
9banks, pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The decisions made in developing the next Farm
11Bill, which includes SNAP, TEFAP, and CSFP, will impact the
12ability of food-insecure Illinoisans to access the food and
13nutrition safety they need; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to
16develop the 2013 Farm Bill with a strong Title IV that protects
17and strengthens federal food and nutrition programs; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That we state our opposition to cuts in funding
20to the federal food and nutrition safety net through the annual
21federal budget process or any other measures; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we reject changes to the State's
2administration of the federal food and nutrition safety net
3that would limit access or add undo burdens to those families
4facing food insecurity; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional
7delegation, the President of the United States, and the United
8States Secretary of Agriculture.