House Bill 367, which is currently stalled in the Kentucky Senate, would make it harder for residents to qualify for SNAP benefits. An opponent says it could affect farmers’ businesses and livelihoods. SNAP recipients can get their work requirements waived in areas in Kentucky with high unemployment rates, and for now a state cabinet gets those waivers from the U.S. government. But if House Bill 367 passes, that would change.
The current version of HB 367 would shift control of those waiver requests to the Kentucky Legislature, so the legislature would be able to choose not to waive work requirements for certain “able-bodied adults without dependents” who get food assistance.
The bill’s sponsor, Earlington Republican Rep. Wade Williams, said the aim of the legislation is to reduce Kentucky’s worker shortage. Kentucky’s current SNAP policies make it “too lucrative to stay on government benefits and keeps people from getting back in the workforce,” he said.
The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, said the change could put almost 16,000 Kentuckians at risk of losing their benefits.
When food assistance programs like SNAP are impacted, farmers markets across the state that accept those benefits as payment lose customers, said Kimberly Ishmael, the policy campaign coordinator of the nonprofit Community Farm Alliance.
Farmers markets can also help combat hunger in food insecure areas. They’re important in rural areas where the nearest grocery store is a county or two away, and more barriers to acquiring SNAP benefits could lead to a dearth of fresh food in those communities.
As of January 2023, 48 farmers markets in Kentucky accepted SNAP, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Berea-based Community Farm Alliance also works on safety net programs for farmers, many of whom are poor and can’t afford to farm full-time, Ishmael said.
The version of HB 367 that the House passed also would reinstate a financial asset test and stricter income limits for SNAP applicants. The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy estimates this change alone would kick tens of thousands more people off SNAP.
Bill sponsor Republican state Rep. Wade Williams of Earlington indicated he is willing to drop that part of the proposal entirely. However, the bill has stalled in a Senate committee and it’s unclear if it will advance any further.
Ishmael talked to LPM’s Divya Karthikeyan about how creating barriers to SNAP benefits can have ripple effects across farming communities and Kentucky’s farming economy.
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Photo Credit: snap
Categories: Kentucky, Business, Crops