September 9, 2020
Senator John Kennedy
416 Russell Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Kennedy and Senator Cassidy,
As you consider additional COVID-19 relief, we write to urge you to increase SNAP benefits by 15 percent for the duration of this public health crisis and economic downturn in the final relief package. This letter represents 31 Louisiana organizations who work directly with Louisianans across the state who are struggling to stay afloat throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic, more than 751,000 Louisianans were at risk of hunger, however the need for emergency food assistance continues to rise, and, now, more than 1 million Louisianans are 1 estimated to be at risk of experiencing hunger. Among those experiencing greater need are hourly-wage and other gig-economy employees who are suddenly out of work, school children who’ve lost access to daily school or summer program breakfasts and lunches, college students learning from home with no access to meal plans or work study jobs, and seniors with limited access to food who are suddenly seeing their retirement savings dwindling.