To: President Donald Trump, The Tennessee State House, The Tennessee State Senate, Governor Bill Lee, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Repeal Tennessee's new SNAP Benefits Criteria
People between the ages of 18-49 will go hungry based on the unrealistic criteria that the state has placed on that population. Without public transportation and exemption waivers, people cannot comply with the requirements to get SNAP benefits, and food banks and soup kitchens will bear the burden of feeding those who lose benefits. This will place undue burdens on people and families in those age groups.
Stop Tennessee from causing more harm to its constituents now.
Stop Tennessee from causing more harm to its constituents now.
Why is this important?
Starting in 2016, persons between the ages of 18-49 in the state of Tennessee that are not working, in a specific school, or volunteering are not eligible for food stamps except for three months in a three-year cycle.
Legislators did not fully comprehend or take into consideration the following:
Tennessee has limited mass transit. Most of the state has no public transportation.
Farms and farmers that work for no pay to produce crops are not considered working. In fact, farmers work harder to supply local grocery stores with produce, meat, and products all year round. Farming is not work.
Jobs are not readily available as this is a right to work state which means they have a right not to hire you as well.
You must have transportation to get anywhere and not all families or individuals have personal transportation or access to transportation.
Those with health problems are not exempt. Many people have health issues and this state does not consider that.
Family members that are caretakers are not exempt. Many people depend on family members for care from feeding and bathing to medication home dialysis administration. Care taking is a full time job.
WIA programs are not always available or accessible. Certain schools at certain times have WIA classes. Not all locations are accessible and many are far from residences at unreasonable distances with no guarantee that the sacrifice and hardship will get you a job.
Volunteering requires transportation and a compatible organization. Based on volunteering for religious organizations, not all religious affiliations have open volunteering opportunities. Some are closed.
You need transportation to accomplish all these things. Yet Tennessee has no mass transit infrastructure except in major cities such as Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis. All other locations are rural with no access.
It is fact that those people in the age bracket, which is a good population of the state, will go hungry and food banks depleted based on current criteria for SNAP benefits. They will be the only place for individuals and young families to eat and get a week's worth of goods per month.
We the people of the state of Tennessee demand that this unjust, unfair criteria be repealed immediately and the legislators stop harming the population of our state.
Legislators did not fully comprehend or take into consideration the following:
Tennessee has limited mass transit. Most of the state has no public transportation.
Farms and farmers that work for no pay to produce crops are not considered working. In fact, farmers work harder to supply local grocery stores with produce, meat, and products all year round. Farming is not work.
Jobs are not readily available as this is a right to work state which means they have a right not to hire you as well.
You must have transportation to get anywhere and not all families or individuals have personal transportation or access to transportation.
Those with health problems are not exempt. Many people have health issues and this state does not consider that.
Family members that are caretakers are not exempt. Many people depend on family members for care from feeding and bathing to medication home dialysis administration. Care taking is a full time job.
WIA programs are not always available or accessible. Certain schools at certain times have WIA classes. Not all locations are accessible and many are far from residences at unreasonable distances with no guarantee that the sacrifice and hardship will get you a job.
Volunteering requires transportation and a compatible organization. Based on volunteering for religious organizations, not all religious affiliations have open volunteering opportunities. Some are closed.
You need transportation to accomplish all these things. Yet Tennessee has no mass transit infrastructure except in major cities such as Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis. All other locations are rural with no access.
It is fact that those people in the age bracket, which is a good population of the state, will go hungry and food banks depleted based on current criteria for SNAP benefits. They will be the only place for individuals and young families to eat and get a week's worth of goods per month.
We the people of the state of Tennessee demand that this unjust, unfair criteria be repealed immediately and the legislators stop harming the population of our state.