U.S. Sen. Bob Casey stopped by a Pottstown food bank Monday on his way to cast his vote on a farm bill package that could cut the food stamp benefits on which so many of those using the food bank depend.

It’s the second time this year Pottstown has been the focus of such votes in Washington. Last month, protestors gathered in Smith Family Plaza to urge U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6th Dist., to vote against a farm bill in the House of Representatives that makes significant funding cuts to the program. He voted in support of the House bill, writes Evan Brandt in The Times Herald.

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SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and is still commonly called “Food Stamps.” The program helps feed nearly 140,000 people in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh said about 10 percent of Montgomery County’s population — about 80,000 people — suffer from “food insecurity,” meaning they do no know where their next meal is coming from and 51,000 of them are children.

Many of them “make too much money to qualify for SNAP,” but even those who do receive an average of only $123.51 per month from the program, which covers, at best, two weeks of food bills.

“As a result, parents often sacrifice their own health and nutrition to feed their children,” said Arkoosh, who is also a medical doctor. “Cutting funding in the SNAP program will be devastating to these Montco families.”

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