Congressman Joe Neguse to Bring Boulder Food Bank Owner As Virtual Guest to President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress
After securing a 15% SNAP increase amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Neguse hopes to highlight need for permanent nutrition assistance support
Click here to RSVP to today’s press conference with Rep. Neguse and Suzanne Crawford previewing the address
Washington D.C.— Congressman Joe Neguse announced today that he will bring Suzanne Crawford, CEO of Sister Carmen as his virtual guest to President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress on Wednesday. After securing a 15% increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through COVID-19 relief packages this past year, Congressman Neguse hopes to highlight the need for permanent nutrition assistance funding to support local food banks and hungry families.
According to Hunger Free Colorado, nearly 40% of Coloradans reported being food insecure over the last year, many due to the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden in March, made key investments in food security. In response to persistent hunger in communities across the country, this bill helped combat increasing food insecurity with key investments in SNAP, WIC, Pandemic EBT and other critical nutrition assistance. With Coronavirus Relief Fund funding (CVRF), Sister Carmen helped provide households with food and financial assistance for electricity and gas bills and also used CARES Act money to support digital literacy classes that connect underserved families and individuals with affordable technology and training on basic computer skills.
“Countless Coloradans dealt with economic hardship this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “President Biden’s American Rescue Plan brought Colorado families urgent support when they needed it most, through expanded nutrition assistance, unemployment benefits and stimulus checks and ensured that our local food banks continued to have the resources to meet the increased needs of our hungry kids and families. Throughout a tough year, our local food banks have provided consistent and heroic support to our communities, shuttling federal COVID-19 relief funds to Coloradans in need and ramping up operations to ensure no one was left behind. Supporting the health and wellbeing of Colorado kids and families must begin by ensuring that everyone has food on their table, our food banks and long-term federal investments in nutrition assistance programs are critical to that effort.”
“The need for food, financial assistance, and other supports has been unprecedented since the beginning of the pandemic. COVID-19 relief funds have helped Sister Carmen Community Center provide our community members in need with much-needed peace of mind during the crisis by providing groceries and rent and mortgage assistance,” said Suzanne Crawford, CEO of Sister Carmen.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Congressman Neguse has worked closely with food banks, and local organizations to bring in needed food assistance resources to Colorado. In April 2020, Congressman Neguse and Senator Bennet, introduced the Food for Families in Crisis Act to provide a 15% increase for SNAP, along with other provisions to strengthen the program. The COVID-19 relief package, which was enacted in late December, included the 15% increase in SNAP monthly benefits and assistance, fought for by Congressman Neguse and Senator Bennet, and the increase was extended under the American Rescue Plan.
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