Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay says the disruption in SNAP benefits highlights the need for legislation to make sure residents don’t go hungry.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — Reverend J. Edwin Lloyd says the food pantry at Whosoever Will Christian Church is a vital resource for his Beltsville community.
However, he says, since the government shutdown, his church has been trying to keep up with increased demand, but this work is vital because the benefits go beyond a single meal.
“Food is crucial in reducing the burden that local governments will have when it comes to providing health opportunities for local residents,” Lloyd explained.
Now, legislation is making its way through the Prince George’s County Council to enhance Reverend Lloyd’s efforts.
If passed, the Food as Medicine Health Program Act would ensure access to healthy food in the county.
Councilmember Wala Blegay says the bill goes a long way to address food insecurity, an issue that the Capital Area Food Bank says impacts 50% of Prince George’s County.
“What we’re trying to do is connect our farmers and fresh food options to our residents, and the Department of Health is going to take the lead on that,” Blegay said.
Blegay also says that even though recent SNAP disruptions highlight the need for this bill to pass, this isn’t the first time federal food aid programs have seen cuts from the Trump administration.
“Food as Medicine was initially a waiver program…under Medicaid, under Biden,” Blegay says. “We were talking about how we could expand it into the county, but what’s crazy is when we started to move forward, we were in a Trump administration, and they ended the program for Food as Medicine.”
Blegay says if the bill passes, she’ll be reaching out to the County Executive’s office to secure funding as soon as possible for the accompanying programs.
Reverend Lloyd says he appreciates the legislation, but now wonders how to keep up with a growing need in an unclear landscape.
“The uncertainty and fluctuation create stress, because you’re uncertain of what will come and what will happen,” Lloyd says. “Therefore, you’re also uncertain whether you’ll have the capacity to meet the demand because of the instability. So…it becomes very frustrating.”