Gov. Phil Murphy signed a joint resolution Friday sponsored by Assembly man Ron Dancer that urges Congress to pass the Military Hunger Prevention Act to give service members access to nutritional assistance.
TheU.S. government estimates as many as 23,000 active duty U.S. troops receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Countless more fail to qualify because they live off base and receive a housing allowance that is counted as income for SNAP eligibility.
“Some of the young men and women who volunteer to defend our nation are going to sleep hungry and worrying about the next meal for their chil- dren,” said Dancer (R-Ocean). “Service members shouldn’t have to rely on food pantries to feed their families. It’s sad, and Washington can fix it. Our warriors deserve better.”
The joint resolution (SJR73/AJR132) passed the Legislature in June.The Military Hunger Prevention Act excludes housing allowances for uni- formed service members from calculations for determining eligibility for federal nutritional programs. The act was introduced in the Senate and House for the 115th Congress, but has yet to be re-introduced for the cur- rent session.