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As families begin to prepare massive amounts of food in anticipation of Thanksgiving, the holiday known for images of families huddled around tables sharing stories of the gratitude, some New Jerseyans will rely on food stamps to celebrate — around 800,000 Garden State residents, in fact.
The New jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition (NJAHC) released a report breaking down the number of recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, detailing the number of recipients in each congressional district in the state.
According to the report, SNAP puts $1.2 billion into New Jersey’s local economies each year, which helps low-income workers, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities.
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In total, there are 301,208 households in New Jersey enrolled in the SNAP program. Central Jersey congressional districts, with 45,166 households benefiting from SNAP, make up nearly 15 percent of the total amount of households.
In other words, SNAP helps one in 11 households obtain healthy food, according to the report. Two out of five of those households include children.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, NJAHC is reminding the public why it is important to maintain investment in SNAP.
"Food pantries usually see a spike in donations around Thanksgiving, which is great, but hunger strikes thousands of New Jersey residents — including the elderly, children and people with disabilities — all year long," said Adele LaTourette, director, New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition.
"That's why maintaining investments in SNAP is so important. Food banks and pantries can't meet the need without this critical food assistance from the federal government.''
The report also calls on the food assistance program to be protected from federal cuts. The SNAP program would be reduced significantly under President Donald Trump administration's budget proposal.
The New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition launched a statewide effort to protect this food assistance for hundreds of thousands of struggling New Jersey residents.
The effort, dubbed #SNAPFeedsNJ Campaign, will mobilize local and state leaders, advocates and residents to protest budget proposals that could force deep cuts to social service aid, including SNAP food assistance, LaTourette explained.
“The budget plans that Congress is considering threaten to decimate the safety net that keeps our children, senior citizens, low-income workers and people with disabilities from going hungry,’’ LaTourette said. “We are standing up for low- and moderate-income residents in the face of proposed tax cuts that could drive up the deficit, forcing devastating reductions in federal food and other assistance.’’
Here is the breakdown of each congressional district's number of SNAP recipients and the recipients' median household income:
- Congressional District 1: 30,308 households; $19,860
- Congressional District 2: 31,643 households; $19,926
- Congressional District 3: 16,872 households; $21,966
- Congressional District 4: 18,234 households; $25,099
- Congressional District 5: 11,860 households; $22,715
- Congressional District 6: 19,175 households; $25,903
- Congressional District 7: 10,454 households; $22,500
- Congressional District 8: 46,768 households; $21,460
- Congressional District 9: 42,391 households; $17,247
- Congressional District 10: 49,907 households; $16,495
- Congressional District 11: 8,059 households; $26,781
- Congressional District 12: 15,537 households; $21,706.
Central Jersey districts include 6, 7 and 12.
“SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger in New Jersey,’’ LaTourette said. “Not only does this assistance keep hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable residents from going hungry, it also boosts New Jersey’s local economies as this money is spent in grocery stores and other retailers across the state.’’
LaTourette said that 1 million New Jersey residents face hunger each year, including about 280,000 children.
“We are asking our federal representatives to reject any proposals that will increase hunger in our state,’’ she said.
Staff Writer Nick Muscavage: 908-243-6615; ngmuscavage@gannettnj.com
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