This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will once again complain about having eaten too much. Some will hit the gym Friday, while others will try to burn calories shopping at the mall.

But in the faith community, Thanksgiving also reminds us of the many families across Maine – including seniors, veterans and children – who struggle with hunger every day.

This is a critical time for America’s hungry. In Congress, lawmakers are negotiating a farm bill that will determine the future of one of the most powerful anti-hunger tools we have – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps).

SNAP provides basic food assistance to more than 245,000 Mainers. Although benefits are modest (averaging only about $1.40 per meal, per person), they are a vital tool for low-wage working families and their children; seniors and people with disabilities; and veterans.

For unemployed workers who are not able to work, or are unable to find a job in an economy that is still failing to produce enough jobs, SNAP is equally important. One in four Maine children are food insecure, meaning that one-quarter of our kids have no assurance of enough to eat every day. For these Maine people, the SNAP program ensures that they have at least some food to eat each day.

Two-thirds of people who rely on SNAP are children, seniors and people with disabilities. The vast majority of people receiving SNAP work if they are able to do so. In fact, among SNAP households without seniors or people with disabilities, two-thirds are working.

Many more have worked recently but have lost their jobs and are having difficulty finding new ones. Searching in vain for a job day after day is hard enough without the added fatigue caused by skipping meals, as many unemployed people often must do.

Sadly, Maine ranks third in the nation and first in New England for very low food security (hunger). For people of faith, and for countless others across our state, the nation and the world, hunger anywhere is unacceptable. Rooted in Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the mission of the Maine Council of Churches is to inspire persons of faith to unite in good works that build a culture of justice, compassion and peace.

While religious people do not agree on every issue, the mandate to feed the hungry and serve the poor is nearly universal for all believers. Maine’s faith community works on a daily basis to help hundreds of struggling families, but despite our best efforts we cannot keep up with the demand. Recent cuts in SNAP benefits have created more hardship, and even more reckless cuts on the horizon would be disastrous and immoral.

Food assistance for Maine seniors, children, people with disabilities and all who live in poverty is under attack in Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to take food away from as many as 4 million hungry Americans, including an estimated more than 60,000 people in Maine, at a time when our unemployment rate still exceeds pre-recession levels.

Some want to cut off food assistance to entire families – even when adults in those families are looking for but can’t find a job. These lawmakers want to require “work” from these hungry people even though work requirements already exist and jobs are scarce.

Another cruel proposal being considered would prevent hungry and poor ex-offenders – people who have already served their sentences – from receiving food assistance. Such an idea is absolutely backward for so many of us in the faith community, as forgiveness is one of our central values. If you’ve served your time, you deserve a second chance and the supports needed to get your life back on track.

Thankfully the U.S. Senate has so far taken a far more moderate path, which includes cuts to SNAP, but by an amount far less damaging than the House version. Even the Senate cuts, however, would likely cause nearly 12,000 Maine households, including many seniors and people with disabilities, to lose some or all of their help.

In the past, Maine’s entire congressional delegation has been supportive of the critical role that SNAP plays in preventing hunger in our state. We urge them to continue their support for a strong SNAP program. We urge all people in Maine to join us in telling our lawmakers that we will not tolerate harsh cuts that would cause more Maine people to suffer from hunger.

— Special to the Press Herald

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