An Oswego County nonprofit organization is raising concerns about how President Trump’s massive policy bill could affect children in need.
Erin’s Angels is an Oswego County-based nonprofit founded in honor of Erin Maxwell, an 11-year-old who suffered from neglect and was killed in 2008.
The organization’s mission is to make sure no child goes hungry.
Jackie Flint, the president of the board of directors at Erin’s Angels, said SNAP benefits are a lifeline to many families they serve, and the thought of cutting them is alarming.
"We're moving this back to children hoarding food in their desk and digging out of garbage cans and food banks being overwhelmed and underfunded,” Flint said.
Erin’s Angels said 76 percent of families in Oswego County are income eligible for federal nutrition programs. And data released by Feeding America shows Oswego County has one of the top 10 highest rates of food insecurity in children in the state.
Jack Pflanz, the director of communications for Erin’s Angels, said investing in programs to help now can help break the cycle of poverty in the future.
"We can nourish these kids now, so they can learn in school, so they can study, so they can pass tests, so they can graduate high school and they can go on to college and trade school and obtain careers and support families now in the short term, or we're going to end up supporting them with our tax dollars in the long term generationally," said Pflanz.
Erin’s Angels is urging people in the community to reach out to their federal representatives about providing support to fight hunger.
“These are people,” said Flint. “They’re not numbers. They’re not statistics. They’re not objects, and we have to stop looking at childhood hunger as a political issue. It has to stop being looked at as that. It’s a human issue.”
