As more than a million Americans face losing food stamps under President Trump’s vision for reauthorizing the farm bill, his vow to wean families off dependence doesn’t apply to thousands of others who have been relying much of their adult lives on payments from the government’s sprawling agriculture program.
And many of those farmers have been getting aid for far longer than the average 10 months that a food stamp recipient gets help. In fact, 27,930 farmers have been collecting for 32 years, a report released Wednesday shows. The assistance is supposed to keep their farming operations afloat, but it flows in good years and bad.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to oppose the cuts, which it warned would “devastate disadvantaged communities.” One in 10 Californians uses food stamps. Some 85,000 would immediately lose their benefits under the House GOP plan, which eliminates a provision allowing states to provide food stamps to families with incomes slightly above the federal eligibility limit.
Critics question why any farm would need such bailouts for 32 years straight.
