Stop cruel SNAP changes

Iowa is about to limit the assets Iowa families can have while still receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to $15,000, justifying this by saying they “need to reduce costs for other priorities.” In 2022, Iowa spent 2.2 million dollars to distribute federal SNAP benefits. That’s about $1.30 from each tax return in Iowa! For that tiny sum, Iowa distributed over $597 million in federal aid to over 278,000 people in need, or about one in 11 Iowans. Where else could you do so much good with a $1.30 contribution?

Our legislators think letting a SNAP family own a whopping $15,000 in total personal assets makes them too "wealthy" to receive aid. Consider your own family. Could you lift yourself out of poverty when your food assistance is yanked from you just when you are starting to save some money? Remember that mass transit is nonexistent in most of the state, making owning at least one car per family a necessity. And you can forget about saving for even a small mobile home, for fear of losing your family's next meal. Our state government is lifting up our neighbors with one hand and pushing them back down with the other! This asset limit is cruel and illogical, and only prolongs poverty and despair.

James Pruitt

Marion