Texas – Considering Congress is wiping out cleanings to snaps and other important nutrition programs and supplying Texas releases County and state level data Shows the economic impact of SNAP in Texas. In the calendar year of 2024, Texas issued $6.97 billion in total SNAP payments to Texas families participating in the program. These SNAP payments have created an estimated $10.73 billion in economic activity in the state. This is a 54% return on investment.
“SNAP is more than a nutrition program, it’s a wise investment in the local, state and national economies,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Texas Feening, the national association of food banks. . “SNAP has a high return on investment that promotes economic activity across the country. The program generates over $10 billion in economic activity in Texas. Significant reductions in SNAP have been broadly covered in our state. It will have a financial impact over the course of its own.”
According to USDA SNAP Multiplier Report$1 billion in SNAP benefits will generate approximately $1.54 billion in domestic production (GDP). It supports 13,560 new jobs. Use this USDA report to view the Texas Health and Human Services Committee’s Snap registration dataand Average meal cost estimateTexas feeding calculated the economic impact of SNAP payments in Texas and the number of jobs and meals supported. In addition to Texas’ $10.73 billion in economic activity caused by SNAP, the program is responsible for supporting more than 94,000 jobs and 2 billion diets for Texas families in need in 2024 There is.
“The families who take part in the snap and put food on the table aren’t the only Texans who harm the proposed sudden cut,” Cole said. “Retailers, farmers, workers and communities in our state are all involved in highly interrelated economic ecosystems and we feel the impact of snap reductions. As the current proposal moves forward, Hungry families suffer, food businesses suffer, and our entire economy weakens.”
Texas Economist Dr. Ray Perryman Estimated Texas’ “hunger cose” as part of a national analysis conducted in 2014. The Perryman Group quantified the annual burden from the hunger-related health and education expenses of the Texas economy (and loss of profits due to health and education defects). . They estimated these annual expenses to be $44.2 billion in spending, $21.3 billion in total product, and almost 239,500 jobs. Another thing 2019 SurveyThe CDC estimated that food insecurity would cost the US health system $53 billion a year by causing or exacerbating chronic illnesses and promoting emergency room visits, hospitalizations and readmissions.
“Snap is our country’s first line of defense against hunger,” Cole said. “If it hinders the ability to do what a program is designed to do, hunger simply won’t go away. Instead, hunger continues, grows, and becomes an even more expensive issue to deal with in the future. Our states and nations cannot afford to get a massive cut, and we cannot afford to ignore hunger.”
Beyond economic impacts, cutting nutrition programs in the budget settlement process could pose a threat to passing a strong, bipartisan farm bill later this year. Re-authorization of the Farm Bill is important to ensure that growers and producers of our country can continue to provide rich and affordable foods to nourish our country. , nutrition programs may continue to be offered to families in need.
“Last year, Food Banks in Texas saw a surge in demand for food aid, reaching levels that have not been seen since the height of the pandemic,” Cole said. “This increased demand is driven primarily by rising food prices. Fully funding and maintaining the appropriateness of benefits is good for everyone. Nutrition is important for families Provide support, support the local economy, create jobs, and have a proven long-term return on investment. Reducing profits will prevent Snap hunger, food banks will meet community needs, and country It weakens the economy and makes it difficult to derail the negotiation of farm bills. This would choose between a win-win-win and a loss-loss scenario.”
The Texas feeding network urges both the U.S. House and Senate to refrain from cutting SNAP or other important nutrition programs.
