Pls support a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill that supports Farmers and Families

As a constituent and concerned citizen, I’m writing about the issue of hunger in our state. Currently, 33.9M Americans, including 13% of our children are facing hunger. That's too many people, and it's a problem that we need to address. Congress is currently negotiating the 2023 Farm Bill, which will fund two federal programs that are essential to fighting hunger: the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). TEFAP provides food to food banks and other hunger relief organizations, and SNAP provides food assistance to low-income families. I'm asking you to work with your colleagues to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill that supports farmers and families. In particular, I urge you to: * Increase mandatory funding for TEFAP by $250 million per year. This will ensure that there is enough food available to meet the needs of Iowans facing hunger. * Authorize $200 million per year for TEFAP storage and distribution funds and $15 million per year for TEFAP infrastructure grants. This will help to ensure that food is distributed efficiently and safely. * Increase SNAP's purchasing power by basing benefits on the Low-Cost Food Plan (rather than the Thrifty Food Plan). This will ensure that SNAP benefits are more sufficient to meet the needs of low-income families. * Streamline eligibility and enrollment for SNAP by improving and simplifying applications, making telephonic signatures a national option, and reducing the number of in-person visits required to authorize programs. This will make it easier for low-income families to access the benefits they need. Thank you for your attention to this important issue facing our community.