In a letter sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee and Subcommittee on Personnel (PDF, 95KB), APA joined the National Military Family Association, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and more than 100 other organizations asking the Senate to include the Military Family Basic Needs Allowance in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a provision already included in the House version of the NDAA.
APA recognizes the significant burden that hunger and food insecurity places on families as well as the negative impacts hunger has on child development. The Military Family Basic Needs Allowance would help address hunger among enlisted service members by providing an allowance to low-income service members so they can pay for food for their families. A 2019 survey from the Military Family Advisory Network (PDF, 2.79MB) found that 1 in 8 military family respondents reported being food insecure and, during the 2018-19 school year, Pentagon records indicate that 1 in 3 children attending on-base schools qualified for free or reduced cost lunch. Unfortunately, many service members do not qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to how military income and allowances are calculated for SNAP benefits.
For more information, contact Sophie Friedl.