Vice President Harris, local leaders highlight food insecurity at Jacksonville food bank

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After visiting a federal vaccination site at the Gateway Mall on Monday, the next stop for Vice President Kamala Harris was at a local food bank to highlight food insecurity and how the coronavirus relief bill aims to address the issue.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried helped facilitate a discussion between Harris and other local lawmakers about the issue during a roundtable at Feeding Northeast Florida.

“The president, he says it all the time, which is: The most important thing that we can do when people are suffering is to see them, to hear them and to help them,” Harris said. “And when we think about the issue of food insecurity, let’s be clear, we are talking about hunger in Americans. And this is an issue that existed before the pandemic and was grossly exaggerated and amplified during this.”

In total, Harris said the relief bill supplies about $1 billion directly targeting food insecurity including:

• The American Rescue Plan increases SNAP benefits by 15%, or $230/month, through the end of September.
• The P-EBT program, which provides funds to feed kids who are on free and reduced lunches, is extended through the end of the pandemic.
• WIC benefits have been extended by some $880 million.

Fried said that 40% of Black families and 39% of Hispanic families in Florida are experiencing chronic hunger.

“We’re working hard to address this at the state level, overseeing 246 million school meals served to children this year, as well as 149 million pounds of food distributed to families and seniors in need,” Fried said.

Harris told the group that she was concerned about the pandemic’s impact on children and “what will have an impact in terms of their ability to develop and to reach their God-given capacity.”

The administration said the relief bill will also strengthen the food supply chain support farmers of color with $4 billion toward debt relief for socially disadvantaged farmers to pay off burdensome debts, and $1 billion in funding to USDA to “create a racial equity commission and address longstanding discrimination.”

Harris also addressed concerns from people who have not yet received relief money that was set to go out to millions of Americans with an adjusted gross income of $80,000 or less, or $160,000 for joint filers.

“We are urging people, for example, to file your taxes, even if you didn’t have an income or a significant income so that they are in the system and that’s one of the things I’d love your help with,” Harris said to the group. “Let people know how to be in the system, so they can get that direct deposit as quickly as possible.”

On Tuesday, the “Help Is Here” tour will continue with President Joe Biden traveling to Ohio to highlight how the American Rescue Plan will help to lower health care costs.