Alma Adams Champions Food Security During COVID-19

Washington – Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Vice Chair of the Committee on Agriculture,continued her national leadership on food security last week with legislation, letters, and local advocacy aimed at solving the ongoing hunger crisis in the 12^th District, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19.

"We should live in a country where it's impossible for children, adults, and families to go hungry, but unfortunately that's not reality for hundreds of thousands of people in my district and millions across America," said Adams. "No one should have to wonder where their next meal will come from. That is why ending all forms of hunger continues to be one of my top priorities in Congress. Adequate nutrition is a fundamental right, and I will continue to support legislation to move us closer to that goal."

Last week:

• Adams' bill, the Closing the Meal Gap Act, was introduced in the Senate by Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Kirsten Gillibrand. The bill would make Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits more generous and ensure the program better accounts for the high medical and housing costs many recipients face. Adams' bill has 115 cosponsors in the House.
  
• Adams convened over 30 congressional, state, and local stakeholders for a meeting of the Adams Hunger Initiative to address increased hunger during COVID.
  
• Adams led a letter to Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), advocating for all COVID-19 SNAP, WIC, and school nutrition waivers to be extended. These waivers are especially important to ensure that students in need continue to receive school meals, since they will not return to class this school year. Since the letter was sent, the USDA has announced the extension of COVID-19 Response SNAP (CR-SNAP) emergency food allotments and SNAP Recertification Periods and Periodic Reporting waivers.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Rep. Adams has fought for food security for those impacted most by this crisis, especially in North Carolina and in her district:

• Earlier in April, Adams joined a letter urging congressional leaders to boost the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent in future rounds of Coronavirus relief funding. In March, Rep. Adams joined Rep. Ilhan Omar in introducing the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act or the MEALS Act, which was included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The MEALS Act protects students' access to school meal benefits during school closures by waving a requirement that prevents the USDA from approving waiver requests that result in increased costs to the federal government.
  
• Before the stay-at-home order, Rep. Adams sent a letter to the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly, urging them to reconvene to pass legislation to provide emergency food assistance for North Carolinians in need.
  
• Adams led letters to 35 local, state, and federal elected officials supporting Gov. Roy Cooper's request to declare a major disaster in North Carolina. Among other things, a major disaster declaration typically releases federal funding for Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) food assistance. North Carolina was the 6^th state to receive a major disaster declaration from President Trump, long before many other states.
  
• During COVID-19, Adams' staff has delivered thousands of meals to homeless Charlotteans, served meals at churches, and donated food to restock food pantries at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Congresswoman Adams introduced legislation throughout the 116^th Congress to combat hunger and achieve universal food security. At the beginning of this Congress, Rep. Adams introduced a Constitutional Amendment to enshrine "adequate nutrition" as a fundamental right. Earlier this year, she continued to tell her story about being one of the millions of Americans who depend on food assistance.

Congresswoman Alma Adams has served in Congress since 2014 and on the House Committee on Agriculture since 2015. She serves on the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, and serves as Vice Chair of the committee. Hunger has been a defining issue of Adams' tenure in Congress. She founded the Adams Hunger Initiative in 2015 to respond to the tens of thousands of food insecure families and children in the 12^th Congressional District.