I’ve lived in PA for the past 12 years. When I moved to this community, I knew I wanted to get involved and help out my neighbors. That’s how I got involved in Bread Basket. It started pretty simply—my parents were visiting, staying with my in-laws, and my father-in-law was volunteering at a food pantry. He invited my dad and I to come along, a couple of weeks later my dad went home, I kept going and, before I knew it, a few weeks turned into years.
Bread Basket is a network of seven food pantries, and a delivery service for those who can’t make it to the pantries, across NEPA. Each has its own identity, its own way of running things, it’s gorgeous, each one unique and beautiful. All seven pantries come together under Bread Basket to raise money, source food, and make sure it gets to the people who need it most. That’s our mission. It’s simple. And it’s never been more important.
We give out food twice a month to eligible households—vegetables, fruit, protein, and dairy when we can get it. Since COVID, our numbers have gone way up. More and more families are walking through our doors. And it’s not just about food—it’s everything tied together. People come in and tell me, “I have to choose between heating the house, paying for my prescriptions, or feeding my kids.” That’s the reality for many of our neighbors. If you have to spend more on medication, you’ve got less for groceries. And vice versa.
Stories of the community I serve propel me to call on Representative Rob Bresnahan to vote against cuts to SNAP that would destroy our region. This budget bill doesn’t cut the fat—it cuts the heart out of the basic safety net that low-income Americans rely on. SNAP is a lifeline for 40 million Americans. And cutting it would devastate families in our communities—children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities.
When you’ve been meeting people face-to-face, hearing stories, making connections, you realize most people don’t want to be at a food pantry. This is their last resort and the place they go to for necessary help. Cutting the budget for SNAP because you think there is fraud in the system (estimated at less than 1%) is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, yes the shell will crack but you destroy the meat you sought to consume—and in the same way, we’re breaking people, we’re destroying our community. We can’t let this continue. We must take care of each other, mend, and rebuild.
This country is facing a wave of human need. If we take away the very programs that are holding people up, we’re going to see a level of suffering we’re not ready for. Grants are disappearing. Food prices are going up. And the people we serve are going to need us more than ever. We need SNAP. Our neighbors need SNAP. Please, Representative Bresnahan, protect it. Protecting SNAP will help our neighbors continue to get the food they need to survive.
Bread Basket will keep doing what we can. But we can’t do it alone. We need policies that protect vulnerable Americans—not punish them for situations outside of their control.
