Best way to help Fresno County’s poor land a job? Restore food aid cut by Trump

Many Fresno County residents are the working poor — people with low-wage jobs who struggle to make ends meet.

So when President Trump decided a few weeks ago to cut off supplemental food aid to nearly 700,000 Americans, that translated to 18,000 in Fresno County.

Across a county as big as Fresno, 18,000 is hard to grasp. But think of it this way: that is just slightly more than the city of Coalinga, population 16,600, the sixth-biggest community in the county.

Now imagine the people of Coalinga not having enough to eat every day.

The president’s rationale, as explained by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, is that the assistance will end for those who are able bodied. “This is about restoring the original intent of food stamps,” Perdue said when the decision was announced. “Moving more able-bodied Americans to self-sufficiency.”

Hunger is a poor mechanism for getting someone to improve one’s job prospects. Because the administration likely won’t relent, Congress should act to restore the assistance. If getting people employed is really the goal, a person who is sufficiently fed will give better job interviews.

How it works

Under current law, able-bodied adults without dependents who work less than 20 hours a week can get three months of food stamps every three years under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

However, states and counties have been allowed to waive that limit if unemployment rates are high.

Due to its chronic unemployment, Fresno County for the last two decades has been able to waive the limitation and maintain the assistance. In fact, all but six counties in California have received waivers through next August.

But under Trump’s new directive, counties must show an unemployment rate of at least 6% to get a one-year waiver. In October, the most recent month calculated, Fresno County’s unemployment rate was 5.8%.

When it comes to personal income, Fresno County ranks 45th out of California’s 58 counties, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2018 personal income amounted to $43,084 for every man, woman and child in the county.

Per-capita income across California stood at $63,557, while the national figure was $54,446.

Jobs that require few skills, such as those found in farming, are a reason for the county’s lower income level. The challenge gets heightened in the winter, when fields and orchards go dormant and there is no need for ag workers.

The working poor, then, truly face the dilemma of paying for housing or for food. For these people, the food assistance is literally a key help.

Time left to act

The Trump policy does not take effect until April, so Congress still has time to reverse the impact with new legislation. Fresno Democrats Jim Costa and TJ Cox should co-author a bill to renew short-term food assistance to those who truly need it. Given how Tulare Republican Devin Nunes has opposed social programs in the past — and how he is one of Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress — it is unlikely he would back such a bill.

That is unfortunate, of course. Nunes’ support would be noteworthy. Hunger is a major problem throughout the Valley, including Nunes’ 22nd District. Alleviating hunger has historically been a bipartisan effort in Congress. In fact, last year both Republicans and Democrats joined forces to block proposals to restrict supplemental food assistance.

It is a basic premise of education that children who are well fed can best learn. That is why every school in Fresno Unified offers free breakfasts and lunches. Under that logic, adults who are not hungry are going to have better chances at finding work. Trump’s ill conceived, even cruel, directive must be nullified to help Fresno County’s working poor improve their lives.