Almost one out of five Texas households is at risk of hunger, according to a new report by the United States Department of Agriculture.
The USDA of Texans households experienced 鈥渓ow or very low food security鈥� from 2009 to 2011. The Texas rate exceeds the national average by almost four percent and is the third highest rate of 鈥渇ood insecurity鈥� in the country.
The USDA considers a family 鈥溾�� if it has enough nutritious food to eat without having to rely on emergency food supplies, scavenging or stealing food. The USDA has used food insecurity as a measure since 2006 because 鈥渉unger is an individual-level physiological condition鈥� which is more difficult to track.
鈥淥ne of the things we鈥檙e most concerned about right now is that as the number of hungry Texans grows, Congress is actually debating a farm bill that could include significant cuts to programs like SNAP, or food stamps as it used to be called,鈥� says Celia Cole with the She describes the is 鈥渢he nation鈥檚 backbone of defense against hunger.鈥�
Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been grappling with ways to reduce federal debt, which this week for the first time. The Republican-led House has sought more aggressive spending cuts, and its version of the $ 1 billion farm bill would reduce food stamp benefits by $16.5 billion. The Democratic-led Senate鈥檚 version would cut food stamps by about $4.5 billion.
Should the House version of the farm bill be enacted, about 5,000 people in AG真人百家乐 County could lose food stamp benefits. More than 162,000 people in AG真人百家乐 are food insecure, according to by Feeding America. Food stamp recipients get an average of $4.30 per person per day, .
The farm bill expires at the end of the month. If Congress can鈥檛 reach an agreement by then 鈥� and it鈥檚 only in session for 11 days this month 鈥� the most likely next step is a temporary extension that would put off a decision until after the November election.
