Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio urged lawmakers in Congress on Friday to pass the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which would boost the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other programs to help families struggling through the coronavirus pandemic.
Colicchio testified before a House Ways and Means subcommittee about the massive jump in unemployment and the flood of people heading to food pantries, saying Congress needs to pass another coronavirus relief package.
"In the midst of a historic hunger crisis, Sen. [John] Cornyn, along with Sen. Mitch McConnell, have failed to pass the HEROES Act, a bill passed by the House of Representatives back in May that would have meaningfully addressed hunger at the federal level," Colicchio said, according to The Hill.
"If you put money into the pockets of people who are most affected, instead of going and waiting in lines in a food bank, they will go to the supermarket and spend that money," Colicchio said.
Colicchio also said that the coronavirus pandemic has worsened food insecurity in the United States.
"In the United States, you can go from being someone who helps out at a food pantry to someone who needs one in a matter of weeks," Colicchio said.
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