KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
—
Organizations that help feed the less fortunate say food insecurity in Jackson County, Missouri, is at a 10-year high, and proposed cuts at the federal level will only make the situation worse.
“Our resources are shrinking at a time when the need is growing,” said Stephen Davis, president and CEO of Harvesters.
Davis joined U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver and Shanita McAfee-Bryant of The Prospect KC for a press conference calling attention to the issue.
They said high costs for housing and food, coupled with a struggling job market and other economic stressors, are leading to more people struggling to get food.
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has passed the U.S. House and is now in front of the Senate. It proposes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps.
The bill adds some work requirements for beneficiaries and shifts some responsibility from the federal government to state governments.
Republican Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri supported the bill in the House of Representatives.
“I don't think the people who are shouting and yelling realize the danger that our country is in right now economically, how close we are to going over the edge,” he said at an event Monday.
Friday at the Nourish KC pantry and community kitchen, Cleaver pushed back on work requirements.
“If you’re hungry or poor, somehow it’s your fault,” he criticized the arguments of his opponents.
McAfee-Bryant said it feels like the federal government is working against groups like hers.
“I used to say a rising tide lifts all boats, but lately, I’ve been asking how we can lift people into stability and self-sufficiency if the federal government is drilling holes in my boat,” she said.
Simon Terry gets a free meal at Nourish KC about three times per week.
“The thing about a growling stomach is it becomes like an animal,” he pointed out.
If the Senate makes changes to the bill the House passed, it will have to return to the House for another vote.
—
