Mazon calls on Congress to end veteran hunger

Ahead of Veterans Day (Nov. 11), MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger joined fellow anti-hunger experts and advocates on Nov. 10 urging immediate action to combat food insecurity among veterans and the active-duty military community.

The groups participated in a hearing hosted by the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.

Mia Hubbard, Mazon’s vice president of programs stated an action Congress could take right now in time for Veterans Day would be to support MAZON’s proposal to create a Military Family Basic Needs Allowance, which is already in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the House with bipartisan support in September. 

“There is simply no reason that military families and veterans should experience the painful reality of hunger. Military and veteran families have been allowed to go hungry on your watch,” Hubbard said during her testimony. She added food insecurity exacerbated in military and veteran populations during COVID-19, contributing to the “worsening of diet-related chronic disease, lost productivity, and even spikes in suicide rates.” 

Currently, the Senate is awaiting a vote on its version of the NDAA bill. In contrast to the House version, the current Senate proposal would support many fewer military families. 

Hubbard raised several of MAZON’s proposals, including improved SNAP access, many of which are outlined in MAZON’s recent report, “Hungry in the Military: Food Insecurity Among Military Families in the U.S.” 

“Success should be measured not by how many food pantries operate at VA centers,” Hubbard said, “but rather by how many food pantries become unnecessary due to veteran households receiving the support they need —and are entitled to — through programs like SNAP.”