Health & Fitness
Cuts To Farm Bill Will Affect Hungry Children On LI, Doctor Says
In a letter to the editor, Dr. Eve Krief says cuts to SNAP will aversely affect nearly 22,000 households on Long Island.
Dr. Eve Krief, of Huntington, submitted an opinion piece titled, "The Farm Bill Is Not Just About Farms. It's About Feeding Hungry Children On Long Island," to Patch. In the piece, she expresses her thoughts on the proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Farm Bill, H.R.2, which is up for a vote in the House.
D.r Krief has a pediatrics practice in Huntington and is affiliated with Huntington Hospital.
Read her thoughts below:
Dear Editor,
As a pediatrician I feel compelled to speak out against the proposed cuts to SNAP in the Farm Bill, H.R.2, which is currently up for a vote in the House.
SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It is the most effective domestic U.S. hunger safety net program and nearly half of its recipients are children. Over one million children in New York State receive benefits from SNAP. Cuts to SNAP will adversely affect children in the nearly 22,000 households with children that participate in SNAP right here on Long Island.
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SNAP delivers critical support to vulnerable families to ensure that they can put food on the table. Children who live in households that are food insecure are likely to be sick more often, recover from illness more slowly and be hospitalized more frequently. Lack of adequate healthy food can impair a child’s ability to perform well in school and can lead to higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems from preschool to adolescence.
SNAP is reauthorized under the Farm Bill, legislation that renews federal agriculture, trade and nutrition programs. At present, SNAP benefits are not enough to provide funding with the resources to obtain an adequate healthy diet, and they should not be cut further.
Find out what's happening in Huntingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
No child should have to struggle with hunger and food insecurity in our country. SNAP serves as a critical support for the health and well being of children and it’s funding should not be cut in the Farm bill.
Dr. Eve Meltzer Krief MD
Headshot via Dr. Eve Krief
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