PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Congress is expected to vote on a sweeping new farm bill aimed at providing subsidies and updating agricultural regulations, but local food banks say the legislation fails to protect SNAP benefits.
Advocates for hunger relief are sounding the alarm about the impact that the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 may have on vulnerable communities.
“It would make permanent the $187 billion in cuts to the SNAP program that have happened over the course of this last year,” said George Matysik, executive director of the Share Food Program in Philadelphia.
Matysik said the bill could worsen food insecurity for families nationwide, and is urging lawmakers to get back to negotiating.
“The farm bill is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to help put funding forward, to help our communities come out of covert and come out of food insecurity,” he said.
However, agriculture leaders said the legislation has been desperately needed. Chris Hoffman, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said farmers need federal assistance to deal with disasters like changing weather patterns that threaten the entire crop.
“I’m hearing stories of vegetable and fruit production,” he said, “50% to 80% loss on buds freezing out.”
The bill is expected to be brought to the house floor this week. Republican Reps. Glenn Thompson and Rob Bresnahan are both “yes” votes, but they are the only House members from Pennsylvania who have publicly stated how they will vote when the bill is brought to the floor.
