FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nicole Williams, Communications & Public Relations Manager
nwilliams@cfbnj.org / 732-798-5213
STATEMENT FROM CARLOS M. RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE COMMUNITY FOODBANK OF NEW JERSEY, ON
THE USDA’S MOVE TO MODERNIZE SNAP BENEFITS
Necessary expansion of SNAP benefits will help 830,000 NJ residents and bring $376 million into the local economy
HILLSIDE, NJ—August 17, 2021
Today, approximately 830,000 New Jersey residents – three quarters of whom are children, seniors, and people with disabilities – rely on SNAP to put food on the table. We commend the USDA for modernizing SNAP from 1975 standards to reflect what it costs to feed a family in 2021. This unprecedented and necessary expansion of benefits will help our neighbors throughout the state access nutritious food and will reduce demand at food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community food programs that are already struggling to meet the need. Modernizing SNAP will not only help ensure that those who rely on the program are better able to afford the healthy food they need to thrive, it will also bring an estimated $376 million in additional federal dollars into our local economy over the course of the next year.
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The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), a member of Feeding America®, has been delivering food, help and hope across the state for over 45 years. Last year, CFBNJ provided nutritious food for over 85 million meals through its network of more than 800 community partners including pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, mobile pantries, and child and senior feeding programs throughout the 15 New Jersey counties it serves. For our hungry neighbors, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey is the powerful agent of change that fills the emptiness caused by hunger and provides resources that are essential to earning a sustainable living.