In New York City, look out for the NYC Mayor rallying support to denounce the Trump’s administration plan to cut off subsidy for food stamp benefits.
The proposed cut will not only affect the poor and the working class who are already struggling to pay rent and maintain a living in NYC, but will also impact very negatively on many school children whose parents cannot afford the provision of healthy and nutritious food for breakfast and lunch.
Up until the last 3 years, the NYC public school children have had to pay for lunch, $1.75. Worse, eating lunch this way in school further reinforced stigma as many of the well-to-do kids weren’t even buying those lunch. A student in NYC public high school 4 years ago told us that “If you go on that lunch line, it wasn’t only a number count on some school administrators’ desk, it was apparent to your school mates that you are poor. For this reasons, many teenagers would rather protect their egos and hurt their bellies.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio leadership changed this. His administration simply made food free to all NYC public school students. Parents that had paid for the school lunch months in advance were duly refunded. Some parents diverted the money into buying school wears and other supplies for their kids.
To all struggling parents in NYC, the free school lunch was a significant relief. If this proposed Trump’s administration plan succeeds, more than 1 million children in the US, and about 21 thousand NYC public students students will be affected.
Precisely, how can this affect you?
If you are a family of 3, and are making anything above $28,000 yearly in NYC, you are deemed as comfortable as the family making $ 90,000, $120,000, and so on per year, and thus your children cannot get free food.
Community Reaction –
“Already anyone making less than $28,000 a year in NYC and has a child or children is for sure earning some kind of support from the government otherwise how do you pay rent that climbs every year?”
“This proposed cut is a moral hazard that could disincentivize the poor from working.”
“It’s clear why it could be hard for the Trump’s administration and its advisers to imaging what it means to be hungry. This is why a lawsuit is in order and the De Blasio’s administration plans to sue if the proposed cut does happen.”
To the community, this is another call to everyone in the neighborhoods to stay civically engaged. When you hear a census call, go get counted. When it’s time to vote, go vote. Attend your community board meetings, and make known the needs of your block. American isn’t America without you!